A Guide to the Natchez Trace Collection Supplement,
1775-1965

The Natchez Trace Collection
Supplement, 1775-1965, consists of personal letters, plantation inventories,
receipts, slave documents, business correspondence and documents, and family-related
documents generated by early settlers of the lower Mississippi Valley. The bulk of
the collection comes from antebellum Mississippi and Louisiana, with Natchez, New
Orleans, and territorial material.

The Natchez Trace Collection Supplement consists of personal letters, plantation
inventories, receipts, slave documents, business correspondence and documents, and
family-related documents generated by early settlers of the lower Mississippi
Valley. The bulk of the collection comes from antebellum Mississippi and Louisiana,
with Natchez, New Orleans, and territorial material.

Archivist's note: Numbers in inventory refer to
original auction lot number, and consequently, items are identified by these numbers
on the folders within the collection. This collection remains in the order received
from the auction house, and by permission, uses edited descriptions provided by
them. The original descriptions with more in-depth information about items and
individuals may be obtained by contacting the repository.

Subsequent revisions were made by Laurel Rozema, October 2010, April 2011;
Bethany Anderson, September 2012; and Paloma Graciani Picardo, April 2015

Detailed Description of the Papers

Thaddeus Lyman maps, 1775

Creator's sketch:

Thaddeus Lyman is numbered among the first Anglo settlers of what became
known as the Natchez District, then a small outpost in the British province
of West Florida. He, his brother Phineas Lyman, Roger Enos, and Israel and
Rufus Putnam organized the Company of Military Adventurers made up of
Connecticut veterans of the Seven Years' War and received vast land grants
in the Natchez District from the British Crown. Thaddeus Lyman is most
famous for being a British leader in the Natchez District, a haven for
British loyalists during the American Revolution, along with Anthony
Hutchins. Both men had their lands and property raided and plundered by
James Willing, an American who had descended the Mississippi River aboard
the Rattletrap with a hundred or so American patriots, adventurers, and
rowdies.

On April 16, 1778, Hutchins and Lyman assembled British settlers and
sympathizers to confront Lt. Reuben Harrison and his American supporters at
White Cliffs (earlier known as Ellis' Cliffs) about five leagues below “the
Natchez,” as settlers called it. Firing first, the British contingent
succeeded in defeating the Americans, having killed Harrison and four others
and taking the remainder as prisoners. For his bravery and leadership at the
Battle of White Cliffs, Thaddeus Lyman was awarded a captain's commission,
and was authorized by crown to raise two companies to help the established
ones defend Natchez from the Americans. Weeks after their victory, Col.
Hutchins and Capt. Lyman became embroiled in conflict over leadership with
Capt. Michael Jackson, who was sent by British officials from Pensacola.
They considered Jackson to be a horse-thief and rogue and had him arrested.
In turn, Lyman found himself under the arrest of Jackson after the latter
officer rallied his supporters. Eventually, Jackson was replaced by Capt.
Anthony Foster, who reestablished stability. In the spring of 1779, Lyman
and Hutchins regretfully disbanded their “companies,” consisting mostly of
officers and non-commissioned officers, according to the order of British
officials at Pensacola. In 1781, after suffering their own defeats at the
hands of the British, the Spanish in the lower Mississippi Valley succeeded
in wresting power from their colonial adversary.

See D. Clayton James, Antebellum Natchez (1968)
and Robert V. Haynes, The Natchez District and the
American Revolution (1976).

Scope and contents:

Note that these maps actually pre-date the official laying out of the town at
the Natchez landing in February 1776, and they also pre-date the Natchez
settlers' representation in the West Florida Assembly at Pensacola granted
by the Crown in 1778.

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A dated 1775 map of the British land grant of 20,000 acres on
Bayou Pierre originally granted by the Crown to Thaddeus Lyman. British
West Florida, Bayou Pierre [pre-Natchez District], February
14, 1775

Scope and contents:

A 9” by 14” simplistic hand-drawn map on the left half of a large 20” by
16” sheet. A simple “C A” or “G A” watermark on the paper. This
manuscript map represents the huge land grant of 20,000 acres on Bayou
Pierre granted to Thaddeus Lyman by the British colonial government of
the Natchez District. It is entitled at the top “20,000 Acres granted by
M.D. to Thadeus [sic] Lyman.” It shows 10,000 acres that once belonged
to Thaddeus Lyman, and land reserved to Lyman that includes 4,000 acres
to Oliver Lyman, 1,000 each to Eleanor and Experience Lyman, and 3,000
acres to Thompson Lyman. There are five other lots designated, each with
the name of an early colonial Mississippi settler. A representation of
Bayou Pierre appears in the map, and although it is not named as such -
it is called Bayou Piere on the companion map listed below. It is dated
14th Feby 1775, and is apparently among the earliest British hand-drawn
maps of land in the colonial Mississippi Valley in existence.

2

The companion map of the Lyman British land grant of 20,000
acres of land on Bayou Pierre in the Natchez District during the
American Revolutionary era. British West Florida, Bayou Pierre
[pre-Natchez District], [circa 1775]

Scope and contents:

A 16” by 10” hand-drawn map of the property entitled, “Plan of 20,000
Acres of Land Originally granted to Thaddeus Lyman and divided by Deeds
represented in the Plan surveyed by Silas Crane.” It shows 11,000 acres
designed as belonging to Thaddeus Lyman, 4,000 acres to Oliver Lyman,
1,000 each to Eleanor and Experience Lyman, and 3,000 acres to Thompson
Lyman. What makes the map so special is that it features a simply drawn
representation of the waters inscribed above the drawing as “Bayou Piere
Creek drawn by estimation” complete with the “South Fork.” The paper is
watermarked with a crown and “G B” with “B” below. It seems plausible
that the “G B” refers to Great Britain, and that although undated, this
is the contemporary companion map to the 1775 map of the same tract of
land featured above. Like the map above, this map is of singular
importance in the history of the settlement of British loyalists at
Natchez during the British colonial and American revolutionary eras.

Stephen Duncan Land Indenture, 1776

Creator's sketch:

Stephen Duncan was one of the first settlers of Carlisle, Pennsylvania,
having received an indenture of land himself from King George III. A
successful merchant, he became involved in local politics and government,
and raised nine children with his wife, Ann Fox. His son John married Sarah
Eliza Postlethwaite, in 1785, and the couple was blessed with five children,
including the future Dr. Stephen Duncan of Natchez. In 1793, shortly before
Stephen's sixth birthday, his father John was killed in a duel with James
Lamberton over a political dispute. By 1850, Dr. Stephen Duncan of Carlisle,
Pennsylvania, had become the largest cotton planter in the world. He resided
at his mansion Auburn, located just outside of Natchez where he built a
personal empire on cotton and slavery. Through his business connections with
financiers Charles and Henry Leverich of New York, Duncan sold his cotton to
British factors in Liverpool and elsewhere.

See the recent biography by Martha Jane Brazy, An
American Planter: Stephen Duncan of Antebellum Natchez and New
York (2006).

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A land grant from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, signed twice
by Stephen Duncan, great-grandfather of Dr. Stephen Duncan of Natchez,
March 25, 1776

Scope and contents:

This 15” by 19” indenture is partly printed, dated 25 March 1776, and
signed by John Armstrong, his wife Rebecca Armstrong, William Lyon, and
Stephen Duncan. In the indenture John Armstrong of Middleton Township in
Cumberland County in the Province of Pennsylvania and his wife Rebecca
sell to William Armstrong, a 200-acre tract of land in Derry Township in
the County of Cumberland for the sum of five shillings.

Andrew Ellicott Letter, 1788

Creator's sketch:

Born in 1754 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the largely self-taught Quaker,
Andrew Ellicott, received a commission to survey the southwestern boundary
of disputed land in New York in 1784. In 1791, he surveyed out the ten
square miles ceded by Maryland and Virginia for the creation of Washington,
D.C. Following the 1795 Pinckney Treaty that approved the establishment of
the frontier boundaries between the United States and Spanish Florida,
Ellicott spent the next four years tramping the forests, fields, and swamps
of Mississippi toward the Atlantic. He became embroiled in conflict with
Governor Manuel Gayoso of Natchez in 1797 because of the Spanish
administration's unwillingness to implement the transfer of the Natchez
region to the Americans. For a short time, he served as one of the leaders
of a self-governing group of men at Natchez who defied both Spanish and
American authorities. Fortunately the Spanish finally ceded what became the
Mississippi Territory without bloodshed, and Ellicott went about his work
having escaped censure from his own federal government. In the first decade
of the nineteenth century, Ellicott worked to survey the boundary between
South Carolina and Georgia, but when the government refused to compensate
him adequately, he retired from public service. During the War of 1812,
Ellicott accepted a position on the faculty at West Point where he taught
until his death in 1820.

Approximately 6” by 8” one-page letter on single sheet possible separated
from its postal cover. Addressed to a “Dear Sir,” Ellicott mentions
“Hard-Money,” but is willing to accept a payment of 22.10 in “State
Paper or Bank Notes, - The discount on so small a sum I am willing to
lose.” He also states, “Note By the Old Line of Stages Letters are
carried Gratis.”

Mississippi Territorial Era Manuscripts,
1797-1817

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General David Forman Will, 1797,
1800

Creator's sketch:

General David Forman was the brother of Ezekiel Forman, an early sponsor
of Natchez Settlement, and father of Sarah Marsh Forman, wife of William
Gordon Forman. The Forman family members helped obtain well over a
thousand acres of land granted by Governor Gayoso under the Spanish
regime. The family hails from New Jersey, but this branch of the family
was in Kent County, Maryland.

Scope and contents:

The will of General David Forman, written in Kent County, Maryland, with
attached document signed by William Dunbar. Natchez, 1797, 1800. Dated
18 August 1797, it bears the attested signature of David Forman with
paper-and-wax seal affixed. Also affixed by wax, is a separate document
beautifully datelined “Natchez 10th June 1800,” and signed by William
Dunbar, the most famous Natchezite of the frontier era. Another notation
on the document indicates that William Gordon Forman, an executor,
attested to the authenticity of the will of “General David Forman late
of Kent County deceased.” The will begins, “In the Name of God Amen
David Forman of this Town in the County of Kent and State of Maryland
Gentleman being in health of Body and of sound mind memory and
understanding, praised be God for the same, do make this my last Will
and Testament in manner follow. . .” The document stipulates how Forman
divides his property among his named daughters and mentions David's
brother Ezekiel.

6

Thomas Tyler Papers, 1799-1808

6

Indenture that describes a 100-acre tract of land on the
Mississippi River a mile from Fort Rosalie [described as “Natchez
Fort”]. Natchez, August 10, 1799

Scope and contents:

The indenture, made on the 10th August 1799, “between Thomas Tyler
of the town of Natchez in Adams County and Mississippi Territory of
the one part, and William Wikoff Junior and William G. Garland both
of the City of New Orleans, in the Province of Louisiana, Merchants,
of the other part.” Tyler, for a debt of $600, mortgages his
property to the men. The land being used as collateral is described
as “containing one hundred Acres French Measure, Situate, lying
& being in the Territory aforesaid one mile below Natchez Fort
and bounded as follows . . .” The Mississippi River was the western
boundary of the property. The indenture is also signed by the judge
William McGuire, and by the prominent settler and merchant, John
Henderson, as recorder. Thomas Tyler signs at the bottom of the page
and seals it.

It provides considerable detail of lands, and mentions places like
the “Natchez Fort,” “the River Mississippi,” “the then County of
Pickering (now county of __),” “Bayou Pierre,” and “the waters of
Cole's Creek.”

Abijah Hunt Papers

Creator's sketch:

Abijah Hunt, a native of New Jearsey, formed a business partnership with his
brothers Jeremiah and Jess Hunt, and Elijah Smith. He came to Natchez in
1798 as a sutler, or licensed merchant, for the United States Army stationed
along the lower Mississippi River. Hunt received shipments of goods from his
brothers, imported, made purchases and transactions in New York,
Philadelphia, and Cincinnati, and gained a good reputation as a reputable
man of business. Hunt began planting cotton, and with Smith opened several
stores and cotton gins at Natchez, Washington, Greenville, Port Gibson, Big
Black, and his original base of operation, Bayou Pierre. Hunt eventually
acquired a 3,645-acre plantation in Adams County, and even larger tracts of
land in Jefferson and Claiborne Counties. He used vertical integration as a
business philosophy, growing cotton, ginning it at his own gins, brokering
cotton for himself and others, ang charging a commission of 10% of the
cotton to planters for processing it.

The three Hunt brothers gained direct financial ties to England and became
one of the largest commission mercantile entities on the southwestern
frontier, supplying planters with all of their needs. They dealt in large
quantities of cotton and contracted sales to British industrial consumers on
behalf of their customers. Jeremiah would sometimes travel to Natchez to
make plans with brother Abijah for the sale and shipment of hundreds of
thousands of pounds of cotton to England.

Hunt was also involved with the incorporation of the Bank of the Mississippi
in 1809 after receiving a charter from the territorial legislature. He
received an appointment as Deputy Postmaster from United States Postmaster
General Joseph Habersham in the fall of 1799, establishing mail services “to
that distant portion of the Union.” Hunt, who began sending the mail in
January 1800, was responsible for the service along the Natchez Trace from
Natchez to Nashville about 500 miles away. Hunt immersed himself in local
politics as an outspoken Federalist, and became embroiled in a conflict with
George Poindexter, a Democratic Republican who later became Governor of
Mississippi. The two fought a duel on the west bank of the river opposite
Natchez in 1811, resulting in his own death.

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Abijah Hunt Papers, 1802-1819

Scope and contents:

Eleven of these 14 manuscripts relate to legal matters about the estate
of Abijah Hunt, and include details about his business connections,
referencing stores at Natchez, Loftus Heights, and the Walnut Hills. Two
of the documents involve land acquisitions, including a detailed 1817
document that mentions Jerermiah, Abijah, and David Hunt.

7

Business document, 1803

Scope and contents:

An 1803 two-page document signed by the prominent and controversial
merchant, Anthony Glass, indicating that “in the year 1799 a certain
Mr. Vorhies did business at the Walnut Hills under the firm of
Abijah Hunt & Co.,” and indicates that Glass contracted with
Hunt at Loftus Heights for goods remaining at the Walnut Hills.

7

Document about store goods

Scope and contents:

One-page legal-size document signed by Benjamin Seamons, an employee
of J. & A. Hunt's store at Cincinnati, who indicates that Hunt
sent considerable quantities of goods from the store at Cincinnati
to the one at Natchez, and that there was a 15% charge on “goods
imported from the Eastward which was sent to Natchez.”

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Document about store goods

Scope and contents:

A two-page over-legal sized manuscript signed by Micheal [sic]
Crozier, who worked with Hunt in 1798 and early 1799, referencing
his job in making a record “of the numbers of the barrels boxes
& packages sent from the Store at Natchez to the Walnut Hills
under the Care of Vorhies.”

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7

A Tract of Land on St. Catherine Creek in Adams County is
claimed by David Hunt and Jeremiah Hunt on behalf of the Estate of
Abijah Hunt, deceased. Natchez, May 4,
1817

Scope and contents:

Five pages of manuscript text, including a legal-size page dated 4
May 1817 and signed by Peter A. Vandorn and attached to a larger
lettersheet. The information relates to members of the Wright and
McCoy families. The land transaction goes back to 1810 or earlier,
and the piece of property was once owned by Daniel Maggett. The
property was originally also possessed by Abijah Hunt, deceased.

7

A lot of eight manuscripts, that relate to a lawsuit
involving Hunt, one dated as early as 1802, and a few being signed
by famous Natchez attorneys Murray & Duncan and Lyman Harding.

There are references to the land being on St. Catherine's Creek
adjoining land of the late James McIntosh; some dealings made at
Abijah Hunt's residence in Natchez and his “counting room;” land
owned formerly by Joseph Pannill; a description of part of the land
being “Woodland,” making it more valuable; reference to an adjacent
plantation; and a reference to the land sellers having “received a
negro woman of . . . Abijah Hunt in part pay.” One of the documents
has a signature of Elijah Smith.

8

Three documents about a land ownership dispute in Adams County
between William Nichols and James Bolls. Natchez,
1802

Scope and contents:

One document dated at Natchez is signed by the prominent early settler,
David Ker, au verso. Several early settlers are mentioned.

9

Two documents from Archibald Lewis to Catherine Surget and
Charles Surget. Natchez, 1803

Scope and contents:

Two legal-size documents from the clerk of the Court of Equity in the
Adams District of Mississippi Territory inform the Surgets of their
required presence at the Court House in Natchez where the case between
them and Anthony Calvit and others is being heard. Both documents are
issued to them personally, not to their legal representatives, and are
signed by Archibald Lewis.

Legal-size one-page document issued to Richard Beale and signed by A.
Lewis.

11

Two documents relate to Thomas Austie's mortgage for 600-acre
property “on Coles Creek about five Miles eastward of Huntstown” to John
Allen, a Philadelphia merchant, for a debt. Jefferson County,
Mississippi Territory, 1803

Scope and contents:

The mortgage is signed by Austie who affixes his seal, and attested and
signed by James Wallace and James Dunlop. The second document is signed
by Edmund Hall.

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Colonial and Territorial Jefferson County, Mississippi records
documenting the sale of land and slaves,
1804

Scope and contents:

These original leaves, including transactions as early as 1768 and as
late as 1804, were once part of a complete ledger that was apparently a
hand-written copy made in the first decade of the 19th century of
records that dated from that time as well as from the British colonial
period. The volume of these early records was unfortunately broken apart
and its pages dispersed among workmen when it was discarded following a
fire in part of the Jefferson County Courthouse facility.

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Thomas Rodney Papers, 1804, 1810

13

Letter explaining why Rodney continued as a Judge in the
Mississippi Territory, from Delaware State Supreme Court Judge John
Fisher, Dover, to Honorable Thomas Rodney, Natchez, Mississippi
Territory, March 6, 1804

13

Document from The Mississippi Territory of the United States,
bearing the printing, “WITNESS, the Honorable Thomas Rodney, first
Judge of our said Court at the Town of Washington . . .“,
May 31, 1810

14

Robert and James Moore Papers, 1804, 1811,
undated

Creator's sketch:

Brothers Robert and James Moore were prosperous early merchants in
Natchez at the turn of the nineteenth century. Robert operated at least
three cotton gins—one at Washington, another at Selsertown, and one on
his own farm near Natchez. He took his ginning business seriously, once
suing a man who had told several planters that ginned cotton at Moore's
facility would not pass inspection in Europe, nor would it sell in
Natchez. Moore asserted that he ginned cotton for neighboring planters
to their great satisfaction.

Scope and contents:

Documents, including copies made by Adams County court clerk Theodore
Stark, relate to a dispute over notes and debts involving the Moores and
merchants, Montfort Calvit and William Hutcheson.

15

Natchez Hospital records, 1805,
1823

15

Audit of the Natchez Hospital for appropriations it received
of over $3,300 from the Territorial Treasury, signed by Theodore
Stark.

15

Memorial of the General Assembly of Mississippi, Praying A
Donation of Public Land, for the Benefit of the Natchez Hospital,
February 12, 1823

Scope and contents:

Ordered to be printed, together with the accompanying act, for the
use of the Senate. Washington: Printed By Gales & Seaton, 1823.

17

Eight-page document about a mortgage of land in the “Town of
Huntston or (Greenville)” involving William Clark and William B. Cotton
of Jefferson County, Mississippi Territory,
1805

Scope and contents:

The document, which is signed by Natchez attorney Lyman Harding, is a
detailed discussion of how Cotton owes Clark, and the mortgage of
property in Huntston currently occupied by Mordecai Throckmorton.

18

Letter from William Clarke to Beverly R. Grayson about a legal
matter in the Supreme Court of the Mississippi Territory,
1806

Scope and contents:

Au verso addressed to Grayson and apparently hand-delivered.

19

Letter from Horatio Jones, Philadelphia, about business to Cyrus
Williams of Charleston. Philadelphia, March 2,
1806

Scope and contents:

Jones mentions that “There are a number of fine young Gentlemen here
from Charlestown with some of whom you will become acquainted.”

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20

Land indenture mortgage and promissory notes for 70 acres on St.
Catherine Creek, signed by numerous early Natchezites; and promissory
notes for land. Natchez, 1807-1808

Scope and contents:

John Pearce mortgages the property to Benjamin Hoke that is indicated as
being originally granted to James Stoddard by the Spanish government in
1788.

Document signed by territorial judges Thomas Rodney and Walter Leake
indicating that a tract of land should be advertised in two Natchez
newspapers and sold to satisfy a debt owed by Rees to the estate of John
Turnbull.

22

Adams County, Mississippi, legal records, 1807-08,
1819

Scope and contents:

Two 1807 legal-size documents signed by Beverly Grayson with several
names mentioned; two 1808 documents referencing William Connor and
others; and an 1819 pre-printed and filled-in document signed by J. T.
Griffith.

23

Joseph Dilworth of Philadelphia settles in Claiborne County as a
merchant who is indebted to his Philadelphia connections. Adams County,
Mississippi Territory, 1807-1811

Scope and contents:

The documents contain detailed information, from men including Daniel D.
Elliott, that reference early merchandising in the Mississippi
Territory, namely the settling of Dilworth there, his purchase of land
in Claiborne County, his business connections with Philadelphia, and the
discrepancy over money that he owed for merchandise.

24

Letter from Nathaniel Wilson Merrell to his grandmother Mrs.
Sarah Merrell indicating that his “Papa” bought an enslaved woman and
her four-year-old son, Washington, Kentucky, January 17,
1808

25

Benjamin Kitchen papers, related to unwillingness to sell a slave
to satisfy a debt as indicated in documents signed by him, Thomas
Rodney, Charles B. Green, and Cowles Mead, Adams County, Mississippi
Territory, 1808

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Letter from Eleazer Allen, Jr., a New Bedford sailor in New
Orleans, to his father about his voyage and business, January
29, 1810

Scope and contents:

Allen writes his father that he has safely delivered boats to Captain
Allen at the Belize. He reports that “William is well likewise all the
rest on Board,” and that stormy weather has delayed him in taking on
cargo at New Orleans.

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The Nathaniel Knight Gibson estate papers,
1810-1822

Creator's sketch:

Orphaned as a youth, Nathaniel Knight Gibson lived with his uncle and
aunt, Stephen and Patty Gibson, until his life was cut short in
November, 1810, by illness before his twenty-first birthday. He spent
his young life in the Warren County region of the Mississippi Territory.
Port Gibson in Claiborne County is named for his family, who were
involved in cotton agriculture and slavery.

Copy from court records in Warren County, Mississippi, of an
1811 document regarding steers that were part of the Gibson estate,
1822

27

Document about the estate given by James Knowland,
undated

27

Document with information from Martha Sharkey (wife of John
Sharkey) about the Gibson estate, referencing the deceased youth's
circumstances prior to his death, how he had been an orphan, his
familial ties, and other details,
1818

27

Copy of an 1810 legal document regarding the case of James
Gibson et al. v. Martha Gibson et al., issued by a court clerk of
Warren County, 1822

27

Copy of “An Inventory of the Goods and Chattels of Nathaniel
Knight Gibson deceased sold March 16th 1811,”
1822

Copy of “An Inventory of the Crop of Nathaniel K. Gibson
deced sold in 1811 by the undersigned [Stephen Gibson Admr],”
1822

27

Detailed account by Stephen Gibson of all the expenses and
loans incurred by his nephew Nathaniel K. Gibson, [circa
1815]

27

Copy from court records, “A further Inventory of the Goods
& Chattels of Nathaniel K. Gibson Decesd Appraised May 29th 1811
by the undersigned [Stephen Gibson, administrator, and named
appraisers]”, 1822

27

Copy of an 1816 document about the Gibson family estate
dispute, [ca. 1820s]

27

Document about the exact ownership of the slaves claimed by
Nathaniel K. Gibson, undated

27

Copy of the “Deposition of Claudius Rawls” about the Gibson
estate, [ca. 1810s-1820s]

27

Fragmentary copy of a document relating to the estate of
Gibson, undated

27

Legal-related letter to James Gibson et al. from Patrick
Sharkey about the Gibson estate case,
undated

Tavern-keepers including Sarah Waters & John Odom, Michael Laughman,
Armstrong Ellis, the Goosey brothers, and Philip Dixon, petitions
governors like David Holmes and Gerard C. Brandon, putting forth the
bond for the application.

38

A document signed by J.E. Clark, Jeremiah Watson, and Walter
Leake about dispute over ownership of a tract of land sold by the United
States Land Commission in Jefferson County, Mississippi Territory,
1817

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Document about how Wilford Hoggatt's property is scheduled to be
sold at auction to pay a loan that he contracted with the President,
Directors and Company of the Bank of the Mississippi. Natchez,
October 21, 1813

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A document about the estate of Fleeharty. Warren County,
Mississippi Territory, 1813

Scope and contents:

It is signed by Thomas DeWitt, Bartlett Shipp (who signs with an “X”),
and John Evatt who post a bond for DeWitt, who is to act an executor in
appraising the estate of Fleeharty. It is also signed “A. Glass,” by
Anthony Glass, who underlines his own name.

Creator's sketch:

According to Robert M. Coates, author of the historical-fictional The
Outlaw Years: The History of the Land Pirates of the Natchez Trace
(1933), Anthony Glass was a prosperous merchant who also “filled the
double rôle of ‘fence' and informer” for the notorious Samuel Mason Gang
who robbed and murdered travelers along the Natchez Trace.

41

The will of Kentucky settler, Samuel Rogers, who bequeaths
property to his wife Martha and stipulates that his minor sons John and
James are to receive schooling. Bath County, Kentucky,
1814

Scope and contents:

The will stipulates that the children will each receive an equal share
of the estate if Martha Rogers remarries.

42

Document in which Luke Carrol, a planter, pledges on his duties
as a constable in Adams County, Mississippi Territory,
1814

Scope and contents:

One page legal-size document bearing the signatures of Luke Carrol, James
B. Madden, and Robert Turner – all early Natchez settlers.

43

A large document signed by Theodore Stark and Walter Leake that
mentions a dispute over a sale of merchandise in Adams County,
Mississippi Territory, December 26,
1814

Scope and contents:

The document is “a true copy of the proceedings had in a certain cause”
between William Tharp and Alexander S. Lyle involving an unpaid loan for
goods, wares, and merchandise. Signed by both Theodore Stark and Walter
Leake

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44

Sixteen folio leaves recording the sales of land and slaves in
Jefferson County, Mississippi Territory,
1815-1816

Scope and contents:

The earliest date for a transaction recorded is 30 March 1815 in which
Abraham Scriber and his wife Jamima Scriber sells property on the waters
of Fairchilds Creek. There are also parcels sold near the middle fork of
Coles Creek, on Bayou Perre [Pierre], and other places. Parties involved
in the transactions include Edward Turner, James Cowdon, David Ker,
James C. Wilkins, Joseph and Samuel Bullen, Charlotte J. H. Claiborne,
Joseph Calvit, Rush Nutt, Robert Cochran, Joseph Dunbar and others. One
1815 sale involves a piece of land on Chubbys Fork of Coles Creek that
was originally granted to Anthony Hutchins by the Spanish government. In
addition to property sales, there are a couple of people sales. Jane
James sells “one Negro Woman named Betty or Bet and Child named Jack,
the woman supposed to be twenty years of age, and child betwixt one and
two years old” guaranteed as “slaves for life” to James Brown. Elizabeth
Pervienne bequeaths her itemized property, including “six Windsor
Chairs,” to Emily and Mary Jane McAlpin. In February 1816, George Forman
gives his children “one negro Boy named Kit (alias) Christopher Eleven
Years of age” along with cattle, oxen, horses, and plantation tools.

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Estate records of William Gordon Forman. Adams County,
Mississippi, 1816-1817

45

Legal document directed to Joseph Forman, administrator of
the Estate of William Gordon Forman, and others. Signed by Theodore
Stark, Adams County, Mississippi Territory,
1816

45

Document of recorded testimony given and signed by Gabriel
Tichenor, about his knowledge of a controversy in which he sold over
$12,500 of personal property from the estate of William Gordon
Forman to Charles B. Green, one of the agents of the estate. From
the papers of attorneys Green & Rankin.

45

Document with information from Tichenor in response to the
complainants that include Margaret Forman and others,
[circa 1817]

Acts Passed at the Second Session of the
Fourteenth Congress of the United States that contains an Act
allowing the Establishment of a Constitution and State Government in the
Mississippi Territory, and Treaties with Indians. Washington, D.C.,
1817

Involves people including Benjamin Price, Joseph Write, Matilda Wright,
and five other named people.

48

Document from the Territory of Arkansas signed by early settlers
who pledge to appraise the Estate of Isaac Runnell, deceased. Hempstead
County, Arkansas Territory, 1820

49

Letter to William Lehman, apothecary at Natchez, from James
Caesar. Philadelphia, [circa 1820]

50

Legal-related document signed by James A. Girault and mentioning
Benjamin Lewish and Chapman White from the Western District of
Mississippi Court. Natchez, 1821

51

Business letter to merchant William Brune at Natchez from Burk
& Krumbhaar. Philadelphia, March 20,
1821

Creator's sketch:

William Brune, the recipient of the letter, was a native of a German
city-state. He made a fortune as a Natchez merchant, ultimately
returning to his native land where he purchased a barony.

52

Letter written by “Uncle Sam,” who mocks religion and the Church
Revival, and who inquires whether Titus L. Bissell, Jr., has been having
fun in Charleston with prostitutes. Savannah, Georgia, April
24, 1821

Creator's sketch:

Scope and contents:

53

Letter from a recent settler, John Grounds, in the new State of
Missouri to Jacob Flander reporting on life there including the purchase
of a slave. Madison County, Missouri, June 9,
1821

Scope and contents:

Grounds writes his brothers and sisters about family matters, and about
his life in Missouri. He writes: “I have Bought a negro man of twenty 6
years of age at four hundred seventy dollars.” He names his children,
indicating their ages, and indicates that, “My son John has sould out to
move to the Spanish Dominion Where they can get Land give to them.” He
also writes a lengthy religious poem on the third page.

54

Letter to John Forsyth at Natchez requesting his “Opinion aboute
Flower and Negros,” from William Ater. Lexington, Kentucky,
1821

55

A record of Louisiana and Mississippi boys in the Catalogue of
the Officers and Students of the University in Cambridge.
October 1821

Scope and contents:

Disbound pamphlet from Cambridge University includes the names of
undergraduates Jephthah A.T. Bynam of Alexandria, Wikoff of Opelusas,
Daniel C. Relf and Hilary B. Cenas of New Orleans, and Robert D. Percy
of St. Francisville, Louisiana, and Robert Thomas Dunbar, John F.
Bingaman, and Alexander C. Dunbar, and Calvin S. Smith of "Natches".

Letter from the early capitol of Jackson from Will P. Puckett to
Sheriff Elias G. Myers of Yazoo County, requesting the sheriff pay Perry
Cohen [or Cohea?] out of money collected from two named men. Jackson,
Mississippi, 1824

62

Letter from Cora Giovanoli of New Orleans, an Italian or Sicilian
woman, to G. Powell, a Natchez commission merchant about a debt owed to
the Estate of J. B. Duplantier. New Orleans, June 30,
1825

Scope and contents:

Giovanoli indicates payment of a debt owed to the estate of J. B.
Duplantier, and Powell autographs a note on the back of the letter,
indicating that he has received payments from Woodson Wren, the
administrator of the estate, for J. J. Fox's account, and Giovanoli's
account.

63

Letter to Mrs. Harriet O. Emerson of Natchez from her sister
Pamela full of family news. Salem, Massachusetts,
1826

64

Letter from E. Kingman of Washington, D.C., to John Peck &
Co. of Fredericksburg, Virginia, detailing politics including a speech
by John Randolph about the subject of divorce. Washington City,
1826

65

Letter settling a debt owed to Daniel Bradford, a Lexington,
Kentucky bookbinder, from James McDaniel representing an anonymous
sender. Natchez, April 9, 1827

66

Letter from John H. Esty referring to a man named Cammack as a
"Rascal" to Felix Huston that
mentions Isaac Ross, Jr. Natchez, 1828

Scope and contents:

Content includes: "It seems he [Cammack]
afterwards obtained a certificate from you and produced that with my
receipt to Ross who paid him the money and I still hold Ross's note.
If the Rascal is in Natchez I wish you would have him arrested in
Ross's name and held to bail, and also criminally for deceit and
swindling."

67

Letter from a gentleman in Charleston, S.C., to Nehemiah
Cleaveland, Esqr., Newbury (Byfield), Mass., a man who may be his foster
or adopted child living in New England, March 16,
1828

Scope and contents:

The writer pens a long letter to Cleaveland, whom he refers to as "Dear Child." The letter is of a personal
nature, with details about his prospective plans to settle in Brooklyn,
New York, spiritual advice, and other subjects.

68

Business letter to George Howard of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, from
Woodson Wren, concerning a balance in favor of the recipient on the
books of Perkins & Wren. Natchez,
1828

69

Bill for barrels of sugar, lading, commission, and interest
issued to the Estate of Jeremiah Hunt by Breedlove Bradford &
Robeson. New Orleans, September 15,
1825

70

Transcript copy of an 1823 marriage license issued to Thomas
Stone and Amelia Watkins and signed by Peter A. Vandorn. Claiborne
County, Miss., May 18, 1829

Scope and contents:

The marriage was celebrated by John H. Esty, Justice of the Peace, on 9
January 1823.

71

Six printed leaves of reports on the commodities market in
Liverpool issued by Baring Brothers & Co. Liverpool,
1830

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72

Large docket book, labeled as "Orphan’s Court Docket," from Jefferson County, Mississippi,
Probate Court listing hundreds of names of prominent planters and other
residents and notations about estates, 1830-33. Contains names of
administrators of estates and guardians as well as brief entries about
the cases and fees incurred. Most of the entries are brief
administrative notes, although there is the occasional interesting entry
such as one relating to Joseph H. Newman, guardian of Claudius Newman,
that indicates "Guardian authorized to sell
all purocal [?] Estate (except negroes) on 12 mo. credit [and]
authorized to sell the crop of 1829 at private sale." Most of
them are more brief such as one for Isaac J. Ross, guardian of Martha A.
Newman, "account allowed bal. due ward
$1283.35," or an entry for Dunbar & Shields,
administrators of William B. Shields, deceased, "bal due Estate of sale horse in Natchez of
$1200.00 or fee 4.50." There are many prominent names of
planters throughout including Blanton, Boles, Calvit, Dunbar, Hunt,
McIllhaney, Robb, Ross, Selser, and Shields to name a few.

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73

Document that gives a detailed description of John T. Garner,
accused of stealing a slave named Tom Porter and two horses. Pike
County, Mississippi, 1833

Scope and contents:

James L. Smith, who signs it, indicates that Garner was from Yazoo
County, and that he “had been commited to jail in that county on a
charge of Grand Larceny and had broke out of jail some time last spring,
and that he was retaken and from information in possession of Gen.
Runnels steed horse was brought back and put in prison again and was
afterwards taken up by a negro a waggoner who supposed he was in the act
of robbing his wagon and from the Best information was taken to
Manchester and thence to Ben jail again and broke out again . . . he is
a man of notorious ill fame as a dishonest man in the County of Yazo and
. . . believes him to be a Renagade from that County.”

Speech of Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, in
Support of His Propositions to Compromise on the Slavery
Question. Revised Edition. In the Senate of the United States,
February 5, 1854. [Washington, D.C.]: Towers,
[1850]

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75

Letter from Aaron Stockton, Nashville, to William Tompkins,
Kenhawa lake [?], Virginia, that reports "Mr.
Abston is in the lower country with negroes," referring to the
huge slave trade in the Deep South, Nashville, January 14,
1832.

76

A letter from James M. Daniels, Saint Moor Amherst [Va.], to
Philip St. George Ambler, Richmond, that reports on the tobacco crop,
and “on the Subjects of Mares & Colts, Fencing, Clover Seed Rye
& Negroes.” Saint Moor, Amherst, near Lynchburg, Virginia,
March 3, 1832

Scope and contents:

After commenting on having planted a group of trees, Daniels writes: “The
Negroes are all well at this time though they have complain.d very much
heretofore with colds – I seeded fifteen bushels Rye – I have had one
end of the new house finished . . . .” He also refers to poplar and pine
flooring, then continues: “The Colts are in good order and grow as fast
as could be expected – the Sir Charles Colt has no Tumor or swelling
about him . . . I have nearly done striping Tobacco and all that I can
say is that it is a sorry crop. When I came to strip, it was much more
fired than I expected, the quantity I cannot will come at but think
there will be 7 or 8 hogsheds ˆ I have not yet carried Patsey to the
horse as I think it Rather early to put ˆ I am convinced that the
Timothy seed will never come up . . . The wheat looks very well. I did
send for any Dr to see York neather did I think it necessary ˆ I have no
dout about Susan being with foal ˆ I suppose I have cleared ten thousand
Tobacco hills ˆ I always intended to put the flats in Corn above the
Mill and I think I shall be able to make corn enough to serve the place.
I wish to put the green bottom in Tobacco as I do not think I will have
enough without ˆ” The remaining two paragraphs relate to his
administration of an estate.

W. W. Calmes, the jailor of Adams County requests from the Clerk
of the Circuit Court of Amite County a transcript of the State case
against N. F. Felder as a voucher for the account of the prisoner's
sustenance. Natchez, July 1, 1833

79

Letter from . G. H. McAllister, "Cottage" [Savannah, Georgia], to George W. Harris Esq.r,
Harrisburgh, Pennsylvania, full of social and political discussion
including the "Slave Question," the
"Tariff Question," and education for
blacks in the antebellum South. "Cottage," Savannah, Georgia, August 8,
1833

Scope and contents:

In this long letter, McAllister touches in some detail on the
controversial topics of the day: "I am
altogether pleased, in sum and substance, with Mr. Websters views on
the slave-question-, and will be yet more gratified, if he and his
admirers, act in accordance with them. . . ." He then
discusses what he terms "the Tariff
question" and its constitutionality. ". . . you ought not to be so much surprised, if
the people of the South should be somewhat incredulous, as to the
infallibility of Mr. W's opinions – or, tardy in admitting that
eastern politicians are exclusively the friends of the Union. I most
cordially unite with you on the subject of Slavery, and believe it
to be, a stain on our National Character. . . ." He continues
with fascinating comments on the “slave question” as it relates to North
and South, then changes the subject to education for Blacks: "I cannot imagine a more interesting sight, than
to enter a negro infant school room, and their to witness the
Mistress of a family, or her Daughter, surrounded by 30, 40 and
sometimes, 50 black children, humanely and affectionately
instructing them in their duty to their God and to each other. Their
proficiency, oftentimes, is wonderful, and their talent, for singing
well, is proverbial. I have not mentioned this injustification of
Slavery (or principles, I know no individual who pretends to justify
it) but to give you some idea of their moral sate, and advantages
with us, and that we are not ignorant of the very great
responsibility attached to our situation. . . ."

80

Document being a beautifully penned United States land grant to
Joseph and Mary Vidal [of Vidalia] for 422 acres on Lake St. Joseph in
Concordia Parish, Louisiana, 1833

Scope and contents:

A 16” by 10” vellum document pre-printed "The
United States of America . . ." with the customary
stipulations for a land grant issued by the "Register of the Land Office at Opelousas in the STATE of
LOUISIANA." The land grant to the Vidals – the founding family
of the Vidalia region – bestows a little over 422 acres in the Parish of
Concordia on Lake St. Joseph. It bears the seal of the General Land
Office in Washington, D.C., and is dated 1 November 1833 and signed
"Andrew Jackson" by his secretary,
A. J. Donelson. It is also signed by Elijah Hayw ard, Commissioner of
the General Land Office. Small torn off lower left corner, otherwise in
beautiful condition in bold attractive pen with a serrated paper seal
with the impression of an eagle and inscription over red wax on vellum
that still has a relatively fresh appearance.

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81

Mortgage deed/indenture record of 1,311-acre Smithland Plantation
and 40 named slaves by John T. Griffith to David Hunt, arguably the
largest slaveholder in the Old South. Jefferson County, Mississippi,
February 1834

Scope and contents:

A folio type page (approximately 10” x 16”) from an old ledger. It is the
record of a mortgage deed/indenture made in February 1835 between John
T. Griffith and David Hunt. Griffith owes $26,000 to Hunt and mortgages
a 1,311-acre plantation "in the County of
Jefferson . . . on the margin of the Mississippi River . . ."
The exact location is stipulated. Additionally, Griffith mortgages "the following forty negro Slaves for life towit
Bell, Ailey, Henry, Dick, Judy, Jim, Nancy, . . ." and other
enslaved individuals. Also included is "the
stock of Mules horses Oxen and cattle belonging to said plantation
which property is called and known by the name of the Smithland
Plantation . . ." The text takes up most of both sides of the
page and is in beautiful easily readable manuscript.

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82

A letter about $1,000s in business from Z. B. Toulmin to A. Bell
& Co. of New York. Mobile, 1834

Scope and contents:

Relating to finances connected with the cotton economy.

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83

The Works of Mrs. Sherwood. Uniform
Edition (vols. 1, 3, 5 and 7), New York,
1834-1837

Scope and contents:

Four green-cloth volumes of literature from the Auburn home of Dr.
Stephen Duncan of Natchez.

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83A

Six volumes from the Auburn home of Dr. Stephen Duncan of
Natchez, 1825, 1834-1849

83A

Astronomy and General Physics /
Considered with reference to Natural Theology, by Rev.
William Whewell, London, 1834

Scope and contents:

8 pp. advertising supplement of "Publications by William Pickering" bound in at front.

83A

On the Adaptation of External Nature to
the Physical Condition of Man..., "Treatise II, Fourth Ed.", by John
Kidd, London, 1836

83A

Second copy of On the Adaptation of
External Nature to the Physical Condition of Man... ,
1836

Scope and contents:

Bears the Ex Libris plate of Lucius Bryan Dabney of Vicksburg

83A

The History of the French Revolution, Vol. II,
by M.A. Thiers, Philadelphia: Carey and Hart,
1842

Scope and contents:

Inscribed "H.P. Duncan"

83A

The Works of the Rev. Richard Cecil,
M.A., Late Rector of Bisley, and Vicar of Chobham, Surrey; and
Minister of St. John's Chapel, Bedford-Row, London: with a
Memoir of His Life. Arranged and revised by Josiah Pratt,
B.D. F.A.S., New York: John P. Haven. Broadway; Boston: Crocker and
Brewster, 1825

Scope and contents:

Bears Duncan bookplate.

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83A

History of Spanish Literature,
Vol. II, by George Ticknor. New York: Harper and Brothers,
1849

Scope and contents:

Inscribed "Duncan, 'DM [Cansby?]'"

83A

Transactions of the New-York State
Agricultural Society, with an Abstract of the Proceedings of the
County Agricultural Societies; and of the American
Institute, Vol. VI – 1846. Albany: C. Van Benthuysen and
Co., Public Printers, 1847

Scope and contents:

Faint inscription, possibly includes "Dr.
Duncan."

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84

Letter from Daniel Brown, an Ohio man who goes to Natchez to get
away from his creditors to Messrs Hubbell & Sweney, Eaton Preble
County, OH. Natchez, March 5, 1835

Scope and contents:

Content includes: "After being satisfied that
my Creditors would not give me an opportunity to do anything I have
thought best to do as I have. I might have staid at home have taken
the jails bound or the benefit of the insolvent act, have been
teased, perplexed, dimed [sic], tormented, &c &c &c and
not have given satisfaction to half my creditors at last." He
leaves what is left of his assets back home to his creditors including
his share in a lottery ticket.

Leverich Correspondence

Creator's sketch:

Charles P. Leverich (1809-1876) born at Newtown, Queens County, New York;
cotton factor, commission merchant, and banker, most notably for planters
Stephen Duncan, William J. Minor, and Francis (Frank) Surget of Natchez.
Surget was one of the wealthiest men in the antebellum South, owning
thirteen plantations in Arkansas, Louisiania, and Mississippi, and over a
thousand slaves. With his brother Henry S. Leverich, the firm of Leverich
& Co's. business had two distinct but related components: the first was
its activity as commission merchants. In this capacity, the firm arranged
the import and export of goods between the United States and Europe, and the
shipment from New York of domestically produced goods to other ports within
the United States. The second component was its activity as cotton factors.
In this capacity, the firm arranged the shipment and sale of Southern
agricultural products to purchasers in the Northern states and in Europe,
and in turn acted as purchasing agent for its clientele of Southern
planters. The firm also provided financial services, investing money in the
stock market on its clients‚ behalf. Two other brothers, William E. Leverich
and James H. Leverich, were successful merchants and bankers in New
Orleans.

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85

Fifteen letters from the New York Leverich & Company with
cotton and sugar planter-clients,
1835-1870

Writer adds to his previous order a request for $1,200-1,500 of "Woolsey & Woolsey's Fluted White Loaf
Sugar. "

85

George E. Payne, New Orleans, to Charles P. Leverich, New
York, May 8, 1848

Scope and contents:

Relates to the dull cotton and sugar market, indebted customers,
banking throughout the nation, and concludes with, "I think our cotton market is likely to
become worse than has been seen for years. – I really hope you
have been able to work off my sugar & will succeed in
selling my tobacco very soon – as I would like to know how I
stand before I take hold again."

85

Business letter from Robert L. Martin, Philadelphia, to H. C.
Leverich, New York, December 9,
1848

Content about the cotton and sugar clients referencing specific
clients including Mrs. Williams, who is described as "a good manager" who has 700 acres of
cane planted that will yield a 1,000 barrels of sugar, and 800 acres
of cotton planted as well. These are large plantations being
referenced.

85

William Taylor Palfrey, Parish of St. Mary's, to Charles P.
Leverich, Merchant, New York, May 1,
1851

Scope and contents:

Palfrey writes about business and comments that a New York watchmaker
has "humbugged" him in not repairing
his watch, and that he would no longer let him do the work, even if
offered his services for free. Palfrey was a planter, sheriff, and a
judge, and also served as a state senator from St. Mary's Parish.

Content includes: "Charlie D. L. has gone
to the Attakapas & speaks of investing in a sugar place I
hear. I only wish he would come to Natchez an invest in one of
our cotton place[s]. Our part of the world requires some of your
energetic northern men among us to arouse our people now."

Reports on her pleasant trip in St. Paul coming to a close, her
anticipated trip back home, and expenses incurred including her
hotel bill. References a great deal of rain that has hindered cotton
picking, and mentions Miss Beauchamp and the Minor family.

86

An Act to Establish Boards of Police, and
Define Their Powers and Jurisdiction, and for Other Purposes,
printed by Stanton and Besancon. Natchez,
1836

Scope and contents:

This 18-page 5” by 8” booklet provides details of how the board meets,
and the duties of overseers of the roads.

87

Letter from S. Holbrook, Danville, Va., to his wife Eliza
Holbrook, Westborough, Mass., about the Holbrook Family that includes
references to health, education, a financially-stressed family member's
desire to take "his negroes" to the
Southwest, and more. Danville, Virginia, November 14,
1836

Map and Description of Vicksburg,
1836

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88

Early map of Vicksburg and a 56-page document that detail the
history of the founding of that city in the early 1820s with much
information about the Vick family. Warren County, Vicksburg,
1836

Scope and contents:

These documents provide revealing details about the foundation and
organization of the city of Vicksburg. One statement comes from the
executor of Newit Vick's estate who was involved in the implementation
of the will in 1821. He mentions "that part of
the City of Vicksburg known and represented as Commons on the Map of
said City – that in August 1819 said Newit Vick made a will and soon
after died leaving Elizabeth his wife Executrix & Hartwell Vick
& Willis B. Vick, his Executors. The said Elizabeth died in a
few minutes after her husband . . ." The document is brimming
with much description of the survey of the town, the most valuable lots,
the layout of the various named streets, property in its proximity to
Front or Levee Streets along the river, names of people who bought lots,
references to the level of the land and flooding, the prices paid for
lots in the new city, and activities that take place in the Commons and
Levee Streets where occurs "the discharging
and loading of boats and occupied by wagons, Drays &
Carts." These are the recorded testimonies of the people who
were present when Vicksburg was laid out in the early 1820s, and
consequently of tremendous value in understanding the foundation of that
famous city. It is signed by Sargent S. Prentiss, famous attorney,
orator and politician from Vicksburg. The Mississippi River is shown
along with the numbered lots, named streets of Vicksburg like
Washington, Mulberry, and Levee Streets, and a "C. deep Ravine" and "Glass Bayou."

References family and children, relatives, church, a marriage and
dinner party.

90

Henry Clark, Cincinnati, to Charles, Natchez,
January 30, 1838

Scope and contents:

About business, friends and health, and several names mentioned.

90

R. C. Wetmore & Co., New York, to Charles, Natchez,
March 9, 1840

Scope and contents:

"Free M. H. Grinnell M C" notation.
References a received letter that was franked by A. S. Brown, a
Member of Congress from Mississippi, and discusses business. The
writer also states that "We hope that the
State of Mississ.i will come to the conclusion to sustain the
Union Bank, the currency Bank of the State Else we fear there
will be great difficulty in coll.g . . . There is but little
doing here. The Spring is fairly opened no ice in the river, yet
little or no trade. Two or three Tuscaloosa Merchants are in . .
."

90

H. E. Peck, Cincinnati, to his brother Charles, Natchez,
May 10, 1840

Scope and contents:

Charles's brother reports that he is relocating to Vincennes,
Illinois, where he will operate a store. References to family.

The indenture is between Isaac W. Arthur and Margaret W. Arthur, New
York City, and Zenas K. Fulton, Natchez, on the one part, and George W.
Adams, Scott County, Kentucky, on the other part. The Arthurs sell Adams
“that tract or parcel of Land laying on the Mississippi River in the
County of Boliver . . .” containing about 843 acres for $17,000.

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92

Report from the Congressional Record referencing Indian Affairs
in 1831 in Lowndes County, Mississippi. Washington, D.C.,
1838

Scope and contents:

Extracted pages from the 25th Congress, 2d Session, House of
Representatives printed reports. Included is a report entitled "The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was
referred the petition of John L. Allen, of the county of Lowndes and
State of Mississippi." The brief report references John Walker
and Marshall Goodman, merchants and partners, who are accused of illegal
trafficking in the Indian trade in 1831 following a complaint from Chief
Tishomingo of the Chickasaw Nation.

93

"Memorandum in Relation to Marriage
Contract" between Henry A. Girault and his soon-to-be wife,
the former Jane Dunbar. Adams County, Mississippi,
1838

Scope and contents:

Apparently some kind of prenuptial contract that references a piece of
property and cites precedents in Virginia law.

94

Pre-printed receipt from the Barnard Family for the jail fees of
Robert, a runaway slave. Natchez, 1838

Scope and contents:

"To S. B. STUTSON, Jailor of Adams County, To
jail and other fees for Robert a runaway, committed on 11th day of
June 1838 Dr. . . ." The receipt is made out to Mrs. Barbara
Barnard, the owner of Robert, the runaway.

95

James A. Montgomery correspondence. Woodville,
1838-1839

95

Goble & Earl, New York, to James A. Montgomery,
Woodville, August 24, 1838

Scope and contents:

Pre-printed and filled-in lettersheet with a ship vignette in the
upper left corner, and an inventory of trunks and footwear purchased
from them and shipped aboard the ship called Kentucky bound for New
Orleans.

Letter to Captain J. J. James of Mississippi River Steamboat
Ambassador from passengers aboard the boat on a trip from New Orleans to
Louisville, including former Mississippi Governor George Poindexter,
Henry Austin of Texas, and planter Isaac R. Ross of Natchez. Steamboat
Ambassador, June 10, 1839

Scope and contents:

Content includes: "Sir, The undersigned after a
delightful passage from New Orleans and intermediate points to
Louisville in your Boat, take occasion before leaving to express to
you their high sense of the good order and discipline which
characterizes the management thereof. . . . and, do most cordially
recommend, the ‘Ambassador' as a Boat of the ‘first class' either in
respect to the ability or the accommodations . . ."

98

Business letter from D. B. Downing, Vicksburg, to his brother
J.C. Downing, New York, June 23, 1839

Scope and contents:

Content relates to the Benedict case and the difficulty of collecting
debts.

99

R. G. Ramsden & Co., a New Orleans factor, purchases from
John Stewart, Richmond, 363 bales of Mississippi cotton for the account
of a customer but delays filling the remainder of the $20,000 order
until he has received the accounts of Queen Victoria of Great Britain.
Natchez, January 27, 1840

Scope and contents:

Contents include: "We are disposed to go to the
extent of your order say $20000, but after due deliberation have
decided to wait the receipt of the 'Queens' accounts before we enter into any further
operations for you, so as to give you the chance of any further
decline . . . On receipt of the British Queens a/cs we shall advise
you of our further proceedings . . ."

100

Love letter from William, New Orleans to his cousin, Katherine C.
Glidden, New Castle, Maine, long and intimate, stating that if he has to
go to Texas, he will not go without her. New Orleans,
February 25, 1840

Scope and contents:

Content includes: "The next Item of importance
is that you had been to the dancing (I wont say – waltzing) school!
Did you really have a 'nice time'? –
I wish I had been there. You know I never dance but I do think I
should have been tempted on such an occasion! . . ." He
mentions that he has children, so he must be widowed, remarking of Kate
that, "I know Cousin Kate will think this a
very silly letter – but tell her I have now as much confidence in
her & as full and concise a belief in her charity &c. as I
can ever have – & loving her, as I do, with a whole heart! Am I
not right? . . ." He appears to be in the shipping business,
as he tells some of his affairs, referencing Mobile.

101

Transcription of a record from the Land Office, Ouachita, that
certifies the purchase of 250 acres of land on Red River by Samuel Davis
for $1.25 per acre. Natchez, 1840

Scope and contents:

Bears seal of James K. Cook, a Justice of the Peace and Notary Public of
Adams County, Mississippi.

102

Letter from Elias Ogden, Natchez, to H. Mosley, Princeton near
Lake Washington, Mississippi, about a debt owed by the Ogden Estate.
Princeton, near Lake Washington, Mississippi, March 4,
1840

103

Steamboat record for the shipment of “Twenty Square Bales Cotton”
to Harwell Stewart & Co. Montgomery, Alabama, June 5,
1840

Scope and contents:

"FROM W. T. BIBB'S WARE-HOUSE, by T. S McFarley
in good order, on board the Steam Boat called the John Duncan
whereof Bullard is at present Master, now lying at MONTGOMERY, and
bound for Mobile, to say: Twenty Square Bales Cotton. . . ."
Signed by James H. Marsh.

104

John L. Lobdell, a West Feliciana attorney, writes Hon. Lafayette
Saunders, the judge at Clinton, La., and provides him with a list of
witnesses in the case of Perry & Wife. West Feliciana,
January 13, 1841

Scope and contents:

The letter includes a list of thirteen people who are being called as
witnesses for Lobdell's client.

105

Family letter from T. Dwight, Trinidad, to his sister Clarissa
Dwight, New Orleans, January 30, 1841

Scope and contents:

The content refers to family and personal matters that include passing
references to the recipient's deceased baby, Caroline in New Haven, the
presidential question, and the weather.

106

Document that describes the sale of interest in the Steamboat
Leander involving Pennsylvanians.
Natchez, March 16, 1841

Scope and contents:

Copy of contract between "I Andrew Gregg of the
Borough of Greenfield Washington County Pennsylvania . . . for and
in Consideration of Five thousand two hundred and fifty Dollars in
hand paid" sells his seven-sixteenths interest in the "Steam Boat called the Leander together with the
seven sixteenth of all and singular her Engine Tackle apparel and
Furniture as they now are . . ." to Joseph Buffington of the
same place

107

Letter from S. F. Shipley, a professor at the College of Baton
Rouge [later Louisiana State University], offering a position to his
friend Charles H. Cragin Esq, Washington, D.C., in the French &
Philosophy Departments. Baton Rouge, April 28,
1841

Scope and contents:

Shipley writes, "An am authorized by the
President of the College of Baton Rouge to say to you that you can
doubtless get the appointment of Professor in said College if you
can be here soon. I was in the college about a year found pretty
hard work but still not disagreeable – you will be required to take
charge of the French department and Philosophy &c. the boys are
not very far advanced so that there is nothing frightful – . .
."

108

Letter from Gab. Winter [?], a Donaldson, La., planter, to
attorney Louis Sanders, Natchez, with political and economic references
to John A. Quitman and “the Infernal Set,” being the Democrats in this
case, August 19, 1841

Scope and contents:

Content includes: "I think that the Opposition
you will meet with in attacking Quitman will be very great for it is
like attacking all those who have lately been at the head of power
and influence in the State. All the Infernal set who have bro‚t the
Country to the brink of Ruin all those who would Countenance
Swindling in all its various Branches so that on your part I trust
that your Patriotism will be enlisted."

109

Letter from A. S. Swearinger, Louisville, Kentucky, to J. T.
Swearinger, Saint Louis, detailing how William Swearinger became
deranged while traveling aboard a steamboat on the Mississippi River
accompanied by his 16-year-old "Negro
Boy." Louisville, Kentucky, October 29,
1841

Scope and contents:

Swearinger writes that "a Mr. William
Swearinger formerly from Virginia but now residing in Missouri
arrived here on tuesday morning last from Virginia. He had with him
a negro boy about 16 years of age and I also learn‚d he had several
trunks or boxes of goods which he shipped on board of the Lebanon
and intended taking passage himself but from some cause or other he
has become entirely deranged. He was taken up as a lunatic and
confined in prison. . . ."

110

William M. Rives, Raymond, correspondence about the business of
Vicksburg-area estates, including that of John W. Jones and a Mr.
Pendleton, featuring references to the sale of slaves. Raymond,
Mississippi, 1842-1843

110

William M. Rives, Raymond, to John M. Chilton, Vicksburg,
April 28, 1842

Scope and contents:

The letter refers to some issues that could "affect the lien on the negroes sold,""the ill health of Mr. Mills" who is
"confined at my house, and is so much
affected by a high fever," and indicates that "Dr. Jones informs me, that the thirty bales
of cotton have been shipped sent to Messrs. Gwin &
Aiken."

110

William M. Rives, Raymond, to John M. Chilton, Vicksburg,
January 19, 1843

Scope and contents:

The letter refers to money to be dispersed to the children of Jones.
"I shall be greatly pleased, & my
trustees will consent, to settle the whole claim in land &
negroes at fair prices." He also makes reference to his
attempt to secure a "negro owned by
Tidence [?] Lane."

111

Eliza R. Morris, who moved to Natchez in 1836, writes to William
Imley, Allenton, N.J., about business and conflict with a stepson.
Natchez, August 10, 1842

Scope and contents:

In addition to references to business, a sale of property, and a
guardianship, contents include: "Mr. Paul
Morris has been very ungentlmeny [sic] with me . . . When I new him
he was quite a boy, but his Father was a good man, and so was his
Brother, but him I never wish to know, again. He thought, I presume
that I was left a widow, with out friends, in a Land of strangers .
. ." She talks about her move to the South, first to South
Carolina, then to Natchez, and gives the chronology.

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112

Map of Mississippi by surveyer A. Downing entitled “Diagram of
the Surveying District South of Tennessee,” dated October 12,
1843 [possibly later 19th century printing]

Scope and contents:

It shows Choctaw and Chickasaw lands and boundary lines, detailed areas
including Honey Island, and numerous town names.

The content is business and financial-related, connected to a debt
collected from Smith & Farrar. There is also the interesting
notation that may refer to slaves: "Note by R.
T. Archer the above fee was for suit by Garland for amt. purchase of
Louisa & Julia by S. G. A."

114

Letter from Post & Main, New York, to Isaac W. Arthur, New
Orleans about their latest business partnership, May 6,
1843

115

Letter from John R. Marshall, Natchez, to John McCrea, Houma,
Parish of Terre Bonne, La., about debt and discrepancy over ownership of
the "Bowie." Place purchased from Mr.
Barnard by John McCrea. Natchez, June 6,
1843

Scope and contents:

Contents include: "When in N. Orleans Mr.
[Ludlow?] informed me that none of your lands had ever been offered
for Entry nor had any one ever been told that preemptions could
locate on any of the lands owned by you or any one else called the
Bowie or Mortimer grants. So you see not one of the squatters can
have the least shadow of a right to one inch of your lands purchased
of Barnard and you are ought therefore to order them off at once
which I trust you will do without fail."

116

Letter from college student William Terrell, Staunton, Va., to
his father Richmond Terrell Esqr, Charlottesville, Va., that tells of a
fatal alcohol-related carriage accident that killed the driver and
injured children who were passengers. Staunton, Virginia,
September 15, 1843

117

Letter from S. Claiborne, Member of Congress, about a legal case,
to C. Dabney of Lynchburg. Charlottesville, Virginia, October
17, 1843

118

Extract of letter by prominent merchants and cotton commission
brokers, Buckner & Stanton of New Orleans. [Natchez],
January 2, 1844.

Outer side also bears the stamp of Ben Edwards, Jr., apparently a
philatelic collector.

121

"Naval Depot and Armory. Memorial of
Citizens of Natchez and Adams County, Miss., asking the location of
the contemplated naval depot and armory at that place,"
printed document from the United States House of Representatives, 28th
Congress, 1st Session, February 15,
1844

Scope and contents:

Previously bound with other acts., this document contains a detailed
letter datelined City Hall, Natchez, January 2, 1844, with a report by
Colonel James C. Wilkins, chairman of the sub-committee. It states that,
"The harbor of Natchez and the landing,
for the space of a mile in front of the bluffs on which the city is
built, are not surpassed by any on the Mississippi river in depth of
water, good anchorage, or the permanency and security of its banks.
. . ." The document is very detailed about the depths of the
river at various points, the question of health at Natchez with a "Schedule of the statistical data on which the
report of the physicians, in regard to the health of the city of
Natchez, is founded" with population and mortality numbers
from 1824-1843. It is signed in print by John R. Stockman, Chairman of
the committee; Thos. S. Munce, Secretary, and 174 men of Natchez deemed
"Selectmen of the city of
Natchez."

122

Letter by James J. Rowan, a known slave-trader, to Messrs
Doremus, Suydan & Nixon, New Orleans, about a legal matter connected
with the Estate of William Chambers, deceased. Natchez,
February 19, 1844

123

Letter from C. McLaurin, Covington County, Miss., to Col. J. F.
Foute at Jackson about a legal case. Covington County, Miss.,
March 8, 1844

124

Letter from anonymous author in Charleston to James Gordon
Bennett, Esq., of New York with attached newspaper clipping alleging
that the Superintendent of a Georgia Female Institute took "Improper Liberties" with girls there.
Charleston, May 4, 1844

Scope and contents:

The letter reads, "The accusation against 'Bishop' Fay is that he has taken
improper liberties with Bishop Elliott's daughter and with the
daughter of a Member of Congress." The 4” clipped newspaper
articles gives the details that include: "The
fathers of the young ladies now members of the school, ought to
probe matters to the bottom. They are deeply and fearfully
interested in maintaining the purity of the institution."

125

Letter from president John P. Walworth and cashier H. D.
Mandeville of the Planters Bank to a court clerk in Hinds County about
judgments in favor of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund. Natchez,
June 6, 1844

Scope and contents:

Attached is a copy of a letter from Governor A. G. Brown to Walworth and
Mandeville from the Executive Chamber, City of Jackson, 2 June 1844,
discussing pay of clerks.

126

Letter from H. Parker, Washington, D.C., to Mrs. Abigail Parsons,
Gloucester, Mass., tells of a visit to the President, the ascendancy of
Polk, a visit to the Slave Market, and a poignant description of an
enslaved woman without her children. Washington, D.C.,
December 31, 1844

Scope and contents:

The writer reports to a friend about their recent travels returning to
Washington. Content includes: "I am to call on
the present With other friends being new years day, went to the
Capitol at opening of Congress. I saw some grate men come into
office and a few speeches. . . . Washington seems alive. I sopose
that Mr. Parsons has heard that Jimmy Polk is to be president. I
sopose he will be as good as Johny Tylor but it does not trouble me
Much who reign, if they do right, to day is New Year. . . ."
Parker then describes his visit "to the
Presidents House. We was introduced to the President and his young
and Beautifull Wife. . . ." He continues about his visit,
describes his home and accommodations, then writes: "The house, well is one I will tell you a bout.
Servants for so they are calld here you we and with Slaves here we
have three in the family A Cook and a Nurse a Woman that takes care
of Children is all ways Calld Nurse then we have a grate Black man
to take car[e] of the horse And Cow and tend table and such like
thing, and these are all Slaves. The gentelman [sic] that lives in
the other house has twelve house-Servants. . . ." The writer
mentions that the "gentleman" owns 60
slaves who are "Off the Collage [sic],"
then continues about local slavery in detail. Then, the writer reports:
"Mr. Bacon shew me the Market where they
sold slaves oh I thought what a dreadfull thing for one Man to sale
another these poor things that we have got cant Take any of their
Ernings[earnings] . . .""The Cook that we have is brought Away from
all her Children and never Expects to See them again. . . ."
The writer includes considerable family news as well.

127

Members of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Mississippi
of the Presbyterian Church attest to the moral and temperate life led by
the Reverend Alonzo Potter, D.D. Natchez, [circa
1845]

Scope and contents:

Standing Committee of the Diocese of Mississippi with signatures of David
Page, Daniel H. Deacon, Ayres P. Merrill, and Joseph Dunbar, Natchez, to
Rev. Benjamin Door, D.D., President of the Standing Committee, No. 376
Arch Street. Upon the occasion of Potter being considered for Bishop,
the members acceded to a pre-printed oath that indicated that Potter was
not a person of "evil report," and that
"he hath, as we believe, led his life for
three years last past, piously, soberly, and honestly."

128

Letter to to Mrs. Francis Sprague, near Natchez, from a Mrs.
Tetter who writes about her family life and gives some details about
specialized slaves. September 24, [circa
1845-50]

Scope and contents:

Tetter writes about moving to a new home and her new baby, repeatedly
inquires of Mrs. Dunbar to whom she sends her love, and reports on her
desire to find a good, honest cook whom she will pay wages. Mrs. Tetter
mentions that her 15-year-old slave Jane is a good worker. She also
writes: "Mr. Tetter wants you to ask Mrs.
Dunbar if she still wants a good waiter. If so there is one at Mr.
Beards for sale; he is a fine party cook dancing room servant &
carriage driver. He is considered one of the best in the
[city/state?] although they ask a large price, one thousand dollars.
He can be had on trial for a few weeks."

129

Letter from T. P. Bancroft, New Orleans, to Robert H. Ives,
Providence, RI, about the cotton market in Liverpool and a reference to
recovered health as a result of bloodletting. New Orleans,
February 15, 1845

Scope and contents:

Content includes: "I am now quite well except I
am hardly as shiny as ever & have lost some weight but by aid of
bloodletting & calomel have entirely recovered from the disease
which attacked towards the end of the year."

130

Letter from Thomas P. Bancroft, New Orleans, to E. Chadwick,
Boston, about the market consumption of the crop of 1845. New Orleans,
March 18, 1846

Scope and contents:

The lengthy letter details a 1,000-bale cotton order and the cotton
markets in on the eastern seaboard and in England.

131

Letter from D. J. Gilbert, Wilmington, NC, to Messrs Boggs &
Southmayd, New York, concerning the production and shipment of
turpentine. Wilmington, N.C., April 17,
1846

Scope and contents:

The first part of the letter is business related, and Gilbert complains
that he has run out of groceries and needs a resupply. The other half is
concerned with the shipment of turpentine, and how "Mr. Grant is in a place where he sells more
goods for Turpentine per mnths &c which he cannot get to market
only when a vessel is sent around there."

132

Letter written from T. Davidson, Woodville, [Texas], to Quincy
Davidson, Victoria, Texas, shortly following the Statehood of Texas.
Woodville, April 27, 1846

Scope and contents:

Davidson writes his kinsman about steamboat travel, business, and
personal matters. He discusses courtship, Woodville, "The Animal Show," and more.

133

Letter from Ann Seymour, Natchez, to Mr. A. G. Washbon, Esq.,
North New Berlin, New York. Natchez, June 4,
1846

Scope and contents:

She needs to sell her farm back in New York, and indicates that the
Mexican War has affected her prospects for success.

A chatty letter about her personal life and mention a rumor about a
friend getting married.

135

Letter from E. B. Fuller, a Natchez member of the Presbyterian
Church, to the Missionary Chronicle in New York regarding his
contributions, desire to receive the Missionary Chronicle free of
Charge, and referencing Natchez Presbyterian Church official John
Henderson. Natchez, August 5, 1846

Scope and contents:

Fuller indicates that he does not wish to pay for a subscription to the
Missionary Chronicle, believing that he should receive it without
charge. To justify his assertion, he enumerates his contributions to the
Presbyterian organization since 1843, and his contributions to the
Presbyterian Church at Natchez.

136

Letter from J. L. Shuck, Nashville, to Rev. W. Cary Crane,
Columbus, Mississippi, that references the Baptist Church in
Mississippi, including a negative critique of the congregation at
Vicksburg. Nashville, August 23, 1846

Scope and contents:

Shuck describes his recent travels home, reports about family through
letters received from Virginia, etc.

137

Edward Bissell, New York, writes R. M. Latimer of Canton,
Mississippi, about confusion over shipping the wrong parts for a "Buggy Waggon." Wall Street, New York,
September 14, 1846

138

Two items from the papers of Aylett Buckner, prominent Natchez
businessman, attorney and planter, consisting of a bill for legal fees
due Buckner & Stuart by Van Winker & Potter, and a promissory
note for $300 written out to Winker & Potter datelined Natchez but
unsigned. Jackson and Natchez, 1846

140

Maria Lancaster, Jackson, writes her cousin Miss Louisiana
Ferrell, Gallatin, TN, a lengthy letter about the family, a marriage, a
family quarrel, and the incidental occurrences in her life. Jackson,
April 17, 1847

Content includes: “We have passed through a dull week. The sales of
Cotton barely reach 5000 Bales. . . . We have now a better supply of Am.
Ships in port then for a long period & they have been much wanted
for the Havre freight.”

142

Bills of sale issued by slave-traders to Samuel Campbell for an
enslaved woman, girl, and baby, who are described by name, age, and are
warranted by the sellers. Rutherford County, Tennessee, 1847
and 1856

142

Bill of sale for a slave

Scope and contents:

Bill of sale datelined Rutherford Co. Tenne. Rec.d, and recording the
sale of "a Negro Girl (Caroline) aged
about nine years slave for life. . . ." She is warranted
as being "sound & sensible."
Signed by the slave-trader John E. Dromgoole and attested by J. E.
Campbell.

142

Bill of sale that records Campbell's purchase of slaves,
August 4, 1856

Scope and contents:

Bill of sale that records Campbell's purchase of"a negro woman & Chile the woman name
Ellen about thirty Two years old & Chile name Sam Thirteen
months old the Said negroes I warrant Sound in body and mind and
Slaves for life this 4th day of August 1856." Signed by
the slave-trader M. H. Brady, and attested by C. M. Brooks and J. W.
Binford.

The whole letter relates to the business of raisins including 162 boxes
that were damaged and had to be sold at a lesser price. He writes, "We are now receiving these from the 'Sunbeam' they are in good order &
a good article."

144

John Brownson, New Orleans, writes his wife Mrs. Caroline
Brownson, Brooklyn, about his business affairs in south Louisiana. New
Orleans, June 3, 1847

Scope and contents:

Brownson indicates that he has been at St. Martinsville and is now
attending court at Lower Vermillion where he will be detained several
days before starting for home via the "Southern route." He expresses concern for his daughter's
health, mentions financial matters, and gives his greetings to friends
and family, particularly his children.

145

Letter from . H. S. Eustis, Natchez, to Messrs. A. & J.
Dunnestown & Co., New Orleans, about shipping cotton from the Bluff
Place on Cole's Creek and the need for supplies for that plantation.
Natchez, August 20, 1847

Jas. E. Heath, Richmond, reports to Revd. John Cooke, Aetna P.O.,
Hanover, Va., the death of a friend in New Orleans from cholera, and
discusses the baffling symptoms of cholera, a telegraphic message that
he sent, and the mourning of the loss of their friend. Richmond,
April 10, 1849

153

Letter from M. C. Blair, Springhill [Mobile], to Mrs. Mary Ann
Nicholson, New Orleans, that references the cholera epidemic in New
Orleans. Mobile, December 28, 1849

Creator's sketch:

Scope and contents:

154

Letter from Dudley C. Hall, New Orleans, to George Howe, Boston,
about the cotton crop of 1848 and quotes on freights to Liverpool and
Boston. New Orleans, January 15, 1849

Letter from John C. Joor, headed home to Louisiana, to his wife
Mrs. Alice S. Joor, Watertown, Jefferson County, New York, about Ohio
and Mississippi River travel aboard steamer William Noble, "25 miles above Vicksburg." Mississippi
River near Vicksburg, June 17, 1851

Among the articles are "State Convention of the
Free People of Color of Maryland,""Emigration of the Colored Race,""Address to the Free Colored Population of
Maryland,""Free Negroes in Virginia,""Mr. Stanley's Bill,""Latest from Liberia,""Negro Preaching,""Slave Trade on the Eastern Coast of
Africa,""Slave Trade on the West Coast," etc.

160

Letter from William S. Thomas, Lexington, Mo., heading to Jackson
County, that references cholera and his life lately, to Col. Robert
Bartu of Town House, Va., a father figure to him. Lexington, Missouri,
June 1832

161

Letter from M.O.L., a woman at the Cumberland Iron Works in “Bell
Vue”, Tn., to her cousin Martha, which provides a detailed account of
widespread cholera outbreak in the area that killed several people
including the cook, Aunt Sarah, whom she described as “Lady like” and a
“faithful Servant.” Bell Vue, Tennessee, July 8,
1852

162

Three documents about estate advertising issued by the Yazoo
Democrat and the Yazoo City Whig newspapers. Yazoo City,
1853-1856

Scope and contents:

Newspaper clippings attached of the estates of the Nicholas O'Reily,
Lester Lamb, and Benjamin Lewis.

163

Letter from A. M. Bigelow, Richmond [Virginia], to Miss Mary A.
Smith, Wayland Female Institute, Upper Alton, IL, that references a duel
and details about a slave cook who was accused of setting houses on
fire, Richmond, January 15, 1854

Scope and contents:

Content includes: "While I was at Mr. Royalls
Roberts house was fired. My loss was more than a hundred dollars.
The cook whom they suspected told me if I had been at home it would
not have happened. It was thought she fired the house of the
Gentleman she lived with the years before. She would have been
emancipated if Eliza had gone to Court. She done it for no bad
treatment. They were to easy with her & when E. told her to do
such & such things she did not do them so R. told her she must
mind his wife or he would punish her. She was kindly treated. She
told the Court she never was better treated in her life but she was
so dirty I could not eat her cooking." Much family news
including a report that the writer's brother-in-law has died, leaving
his sister an estate worth $30,000.

164

Letter from William D. Gagger, Mobile, to his nephew, describing
a visit made by former President Millard Fillmore to Mobile, Alabama,
April 7, 1854

Scope and contents:

Contents include: "I have seen your cozin
Millard Filmore and see the countenance and features of your father
wich broat to mind youthful Days that never will return . . .Every
one speek of his Being a fine looking man and mutch pleased with his
address To the people in Mobile . . . ."

165

Letter from Mary M. Pugh, [Charleston, S.C.], who writes to her
sister [Sue E. Furman], family news including reports of the loss of
"one negro Cholera," plans for
Fourth of July, "an interestting Sabbath
School both for whites & negroes," and the Baptists in
Charleston. [Charleston, S.C.], June 5,
1854

166

Sale record of nearly $5,500 worth of sugar mill equipment from
the succession of Alvarez Fisk by auctioneer George Palfrey. New
Orleans, 1854

Scope and contents:

Purchasers of the property included Bayard Milligan, Laurent Millandon,
Robert Ferguson, and Thompson Harrison. The sale occurred in New Orleans
at the Bramah Cotton Press.

167

Letter from William Staples, Chicago, to Dr. D. L. Broom to Dr.
D. L. Broom of Woodville, Miss., giving an update on his own family.
Chicago, August 14, 1854

Scope and contents:

A young man writes that his father is unwell with a sore hand and unable
to write, and he indicates that five people, mostly emigrants, have died
in Chicago within the past day.

168

Letter written by O. C. Powell, Caddo, La., to his friend Dr. J.
Pownall, Motezuma [sic], CA, about local news and inquires about his
success "in the Land of Gold." Keachie,
Louisiana, September 22, 1854

Scope and contents:

He mentions marriages at Keachie Methodist Church, the recent deaths of
elderly neighbors, crops, and inquires about his friend's life in
California, noting that "Your gold Stories
look like tales of fiction more than fact. I should like to know how
much of the shining metal my old friend could command and call his
own."

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169

Broadside advertising the sale of an estate belonging to the
Huggins Brothers, minors, by their guardian Hugh Torrance. Coffeeville,
Mississippi, November 18, 1854

Scope and contents:

The broadside indicates the description of the auction and what is to be
sold including 680 acres, farm animals, “farming utensils,” and crops.

"Speech of Hon. Erastus Brooks, In The
Senate, Feb. 7th, 8th, and 13th, 1855, The Lemmon Slave Case and
Slavery – Secret Societies and Oaths – Grounds of Opposition to
Mr. Seward – The Common Schools of New York – The Bible in our
Schools – The Pure Franchises – A Better System of
Naturalization ˆ American Ambassadors Abroad – American Rulers
at Home"

170

"Speech of William H. Seward,
Against Mr. Douglas‚ Second Enabling Bill, And In Favor Of The
Immediate Admission of Kansas into the Union, In The Senate Of
The United States, July, 2, 1856," Washington, D.C.: Buell
& Blanchard, Printers, 1856

170

"Are Working-Men "Slaves?" Speech of Hon. Henry
Wilson, Of Massachusetts, In Reply To Hon. J. H. Hammond, Of S.
C., in the Senate, March 20, 1858, on the Bill to Admit Kansas
under the LeCompton Constitution."

170

"Speech of Hon. Thomas L. Clingman,
Of North Carolina, Against The Revolutionary Movement Of The
Anti-Slavery Party, Delivered In The Senate of fhe United
States, January 16, 1860. "

Sale record of the estate of Patrick Murphy, deceased. New
Orleans, 1855

Scope and contents:

The auction was held by George Palfrey at Banks Arcade on Magazine Street
on Saturday, March 31, 1855.

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173

Letter from R. McInnis of the Office of the True Witness and S.W.
Presbyterian to David Jones about a subscription. Jackson,
1855

174

Documents of the brothers George and Daniel Rathbone, who attend
the Kentucky Military Institute, near Frankfort,
1855-1857

174

Bill for George's school uniform,
1855

174

Bill for George's socks, a toothbrush, sundry items, “Book of
Sports,” and a towel

174

Report card for Daniel for the session ending November 17,
1855

Scope and contents:

Contains detailed information about the curriculum and environment of
the institute.

174

Report card for George for the session ending June 14, 1856

174

Report card for George for the session ending January 26,
1856

174

Letter from D. W. Morgan, Military Institute, KY, to Hon. S.
I.[?] Ghalson about the good progress of Daniel and the poor
progress of George, partly due to ill health, June 26,
1856.

174

Report card for George for the session ending 23 January
1857.

174

Report card for Daniel for the session ending 19 January
1857.

175

Female education collection, Mississippi and Louisiana,
1855-1891

175

Part of a letter to Mr. Jno. P. Darden from an administrator
of Franklin Female College in Holly Springs, Mississippi,
September 20, 1855

Scope and contents:

Includes 4” x 3” steel-plate engraving of the actual building at
Franklin Female College, as well as carriages, men, and women.

175

Three receipts for the December 1858-February 1859 tuition
and enumerated expenses of Miss Louise, issued to Mrs. Johnson, from
the Young Ladies' Institute, [New Orleans]. Expenses include an
English literature book, a pattern, stamps, coal, songs, and guitar
picks.

Expense sheet from Hubert P. Lefebvre to Mr. Wm. Bataille for
the expenses of his daughter that include board, washing, fuel and
lights, use of piano, English tuition, etc. [New Orleans, La.?],
October 11, 1860

Information includes members of the board of trustees and faculty,
description of female education, the school, and its policies,
religious influence, boarding, dress, and the rates for various
classes and expenses.

The factor informs Prewitt of cotton prices, the sales of his cotton, a
$2,000 debit balance, and the payment of two drafts to a Mr.
Perkins.

180

Letter from Felix Huston by E. F. Huston, near Natchez, to Mr.
Godbold, Port Hudson, La., and hand-carried by the slave Harry. Natchez,
July 14, 1856

Creator's sketch:

Felix Huston was a lawyer, military adventurer, Commanding Officer of the
Army of the Republic of Texas, and a Mississippi secessionist.

Scope and contents:

Felix is “dangerously ill” and refers to the administration of his
property.

181

Twelve items from Francis Surget, a 4,000-bale planter worth over
$2 million at his death. Natchez,
1857-58

Creator's sketch:

Surget, once described by an Arkansas newspaper editor as the "nabob from Natchez" [who was] "as rich as Croesus," was also given the
description of having been "the most extensive
and successful planter Mississippi had ever seen," according
to Mississippi historian J. F. H. Claiborne. For brief profile of
Surget, see David G. Sansing, Sim C. Callon, and Carolyn Vance Smith,
Natchez: An Illustrated History
(1992).

181

11 bank checks drawn on W. A. Britton & Co. of Natchez on
the account of the estate of Francis Surget. The checks are
pre-printed and filled-in by either sons, Francis II "Frank" Surget or Eustace Surget.
These are to different people and entities including Luke &
Dononhue, Walker & Collins, the Concordia Intelligencer, the
Natchez Ferry Association, to A. C. Ferguson for taxes in
Mississippi, to Frank himself, and others.

181

Envelope addressed "Francis Surget
Esqre, New York Hotel" in beautiful ink pen, and a pencil
notation on the side indicating "Arkansas
Lands."

182

Letter from J.M. [Crudd?] the leading cypress tree lumberman who
gives a report on business, fear of charges of "Cruelty to Animals,""a Murder of a Negro by a Negro," and
the local "Negro Ball" of enslaved
Africans referred to as "the Darkies,"
to his friend Alfred. Moss Point, [Mississippi],
1859

184

Letter from C. B. N., Washington, D.C., to Thomas E., that refers
to the Kansas issue "Lecomptonism," the
tariff, and political losses in Pennsylvania, as well as a Charleston,
Missouri, friend's visit. Washington, D.C., October 29,
1859

185

A stampless cover to Hon. Alexander K. Farrar at Kingston, near
Natchez, Mississippi. Summer of 1860

Scope and contents:

This envelope bears an inscription “Gus. H. Wilcox 1860.”

186

Letter from Surge Flournay of Flournay & Caste, Austin,
Texas, to Col. D. W. Bozman, Central Institute, AL, mentions the dry
weather and bad crops throughout most of the state during the last
Summer before the Civil War. Austin, August 3,
1860

Scope and contents:

Content includes: "We are all making very poor
crops of corn & cotton all over Texas, except in the Northern
part of the State." During the summer before the breakout of
the Civil War, he writes that "Politics are
quite high here. Just now our election comes off next
Monday."

187

Aventine Plantation records. Adams County, Mississippi,
1862-1868

Creator's sketch:

Aventine Plantation on Second Creek in Adams County, Mississippi, was
once part of Francis Surget's vast cotton barony. It became the property
of Major Gabriel Shields, who married into the family. Shields was the
wealthiest of four sons of William Bayard Shields, a former Mississippi
Supreme Court Justice. He resided at his mansion estate "Montebello" near Natchez, and Aventine
furnished food and goodsfor him there, as well as shoes for Confederate
soldiers. In recent years, historian Winthrop Jordan documented the
now-famous slave conspiracy along Second Creek in Tumult and Silence at Second Creek: An Inquiry into a Civil War
Slave Conspiracy (revised edition, 1995). Charles Sauters, a
native of the Netherlands, worked as overseer on the plantation partway
through the Civil War.

187

Overseer's book of handwritten medical cures, 1868,
undated

Scope and contents:

Some of the cures are quite detailed. There are recipes for cures to
treat ailments and diseases like “fever for a child,” “bowel
complaint,” nettle rash, “colic in horses,” dyspepsia, dysentery,
small worms, chapped hands, yellow fever, cholera, and much more.
Two affixed newspaper clippings bear an 1868 date.

187

Small note about "Leather for Negro
Shoes," signed by Gabe B. Shields, January 7,
1862.

187

Small note to Mr. Schroder from [T.S.?] Metcalfe about corn
for Ingleside Plantation, October 31,
1862

187

Slave pass for Willis to go between Aventine and Montebello,
signed by Charles Sauters, Deceber 18,
1862

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188

A Shiloh-Mississippi Valley related large Civil War document from
the 63rd Regiment of Ohio Volunteers under Captain Charles E. Brown
listing their arms, accoutrements, and ammunition on hand in the last
quarter of 1862. Corinth, Mississippi, April 6,
1863

Scope and contents:

This document, entitled "Return of Ordnance and
Ordnance Stores received, issued, and remaining on hand in Company
(B) Sixty-third Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for the Quarter
ending December 31st 1862," is signed by Charles Brown,
Captain Commanding Company.

189

Vellum diploma for Sophia Steadman from the Natchez Institute,
founded 1845 by Alvarez Fisk, with a vignette of the building during the
Civil War. Natchez, July 25, 1863

Scope and contents:

Engraved and printed by C. Craske, New York, the diploma is signed by
president Josephus Hewett, superintendent Alexander G. Wilson, and
secretary John Fleming.

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190

Press-printed blank "Oath of Allegiance
to the Union," purportedly found in Alabama,
1864

Scope and contents:

The famous language on it is as follows: "I,
________, do solemnly swear in presence of Almighty God that I will
henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution
of the United States and the Union of the States thereunder; and
that I will in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all acts
of Congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to
slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void
by Congress, or by decision of the Supreme Court; and that I will in
like manner abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the
President made during the existing rebellion, having reference to
slaves, as long and so far as not modified or declared void by
decisions of the Supreme Court. So help me God. Sworn and subscribed
before me, this ____ day of ____ 1864." There are also two
blanks where witnesses signatures would appear on a filled-in
document.

191

Statistics of the Operations of the
Executive Board of Friends‚ Association of Philadelphia and its
Vicinity, for the Relief of Colored Freedmen. Philadelphia:
Inquirer Printing Office, 1864

Scope and contents:

33 pp. Includes "Report of Samuel R. Shipley,
President of the Executive Board, of His Recent Visit to the Camps
of the Freedmen on the Mississippi River," which gives the
estimations of freedmen encamped at 30 places along the Mississippi
River and describes in detail the living conditions of freedmen. Shipley
writes that, "A voyage down the Mississippi is
at all times one of interest, but since the war has placed its
indelible marks on the country through which it flows, it is more so
than ever. Frowning fortresses and earthworks, gun-boats, and here
and there a long line of dismantled plantations, soon made it
evident that I was entering upon the theatre of war." There
are details about the situations of specific plantation camps. Helen
James, in her printed letter, relates how the freed women no longer wear
thick, gray-flannel dresses: "The negroes have
a great repugnance to wearing them, especially those who have been
for sometime free. They will not buy them, preferring to give the
same money for a half-worn garment, of different fabric, that would
not do one-quarter of the service. We can give them away to those
who have just come into our lines; but they do not give the comfort
that a cotton dress would, made of strong material, that would cost
no more than this stuff. The reason why they dislike this material
is, because they have worn it as slaves. They say, 'We's free now, missis, isn't we? Den we don
wan to war dat kind o' stuff no more. We's allers had to war
dat, and we wans to dress like de white folks now.'"

This CDV portrays a young woman standing next to a young man who is
seated in a chair. There is a penned inscription that reads "Miss Nona Schrober's Mothers Cousin Rodney,
Miss."

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193

Letter written during Reconstruction by B. P. Williamson to his
brother Beverly Williamson, Clarksville, Va., that describes the loss of
his shops by fire, believed to be arson. Raleigh, North Carolina,
July 19, 1867

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194

Life and Death in Rebel Prisons: Giving a
Complete History of the Inhuman and Barbarous Treatment of our Brave
Soldiers by Rebel Authorities, Inflicting Terrible Suffering and
Frightful Mortality, Principally at Andersonville, GA., and
Florence, S.C., Describing Plans of Escape, Arrival of Prisoners,
with Numerous and Varied Incidents and Anecdotes of Prison
Life. By Robert H. Kellogg, Sergeant-Major 16th Regiment
Connecticut Volunteers. Prepared from his Daily Journal. Hartford: L.
Stebbins, 1867

A remarkable large volume, entitled "Minute Book – Jefferson County" that documents the
establishment, administration, and maintenance of children’s schools,
including black children, in Reconstruction-Era Jefferson County,
Mississippi, 1870-1873. The first page is headed "Board of School Directors, Nov. Term
1870," and states: "Be it remembered
that on the 7th day of November A.D. 1870, the Board of School
Directors of the County of Jefferson and State of Mississippi, met
at the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of said County &
State, for the purpose of organizing said Board under an Act of the
Legislature of the State of Mississippi entitled an 'Act to regulate the Supervision,
Organization, and Maintenance of a Uniform System of Public
Education for the State of Mississippi‚' Approved July 4th
1870, at which time and place these present [signed] W. G. Millsaps,
President; Thos. Reed, E. G. Wood, Robert Cox, Merinian [?] Howard,
Calvin B. Richardson, Members; Leroy L. Key, Secretary; and absent,
Daniel G. Buie." The 97 pages are generally filled with
information about land purchases for schools, the names of elected
teachers, salaries for named teachers, a subscription to the Mississippi
Educational Journal, school-related issues, and even a passing reference
to education for black children in the county.

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197

A large volume, entitled "Road
Docket" of Jefferson County, Mississippi, Overseers of the
Roads Records from the era of Reconstruction that mentions many road
names, plantation and land owners, plantation and community names, road
overseers, and even some names of black "hands,"1875-1894 (bulk 1870s). Entries detail the roads in
Jefferson County, the overseers of the roads, and numerous plantations
and places throughout the area. There are many names of plantation and
landowners, road overseers, and a couple groups of named "hands" in a latter-date entry. The data
includes entries for work on such roads as "Bethesda Church to 15 miles on Blue Hill,""Union Church to the Copiah County
Line,""Lincoln County Line to Road Leading from Mrs.
Beateys to Steam Saw Mill,""Forks of Road near Graveyard to Hurricane
Bridge,""Mitchells Gin House to Union Church,""Sloppy Hollow in John Torreys Lane to
Mitchells Gin House,""Church Hill & Rodney Road to the
Mississippi River,""Ashland Plantation to Black Creek,""Coon Box to Terrys Ford of Coles
Creek,""Mississippi River to William Holmes
Residence,""Sunny Side Plantation to Church Hill,"
and many more. Roads connecting communities like Fayette, Hamburg, Union
Church, Red Lick, Port Gibson, Rodney, and Natchez are also mentioned,
and places like "Bowies Place,""Uniontown Ford Coles Creek,""the Place of James Stowers,""A. E. Greens 'Gayoso Place,'" are included along with many
others.

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197A

A large volume of Jefferson County, Mississippi, "Motion Docket." 1871-Feb. 1885, undated.

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198

Original presentation copy of the "United States Senate Journal for the First Session of the
Forty-Fourth Congress" (1875-76) given by Senator J. R. West
of Louisiana to Charles H. Fontaine, Justice of the Peace of Vicksburg
during the 1880s. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office,
1876

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199

Letter from Miss Carrie Webster, near Lexington, Holmes Co.,
Miss., an impoverished woman who makes a heart-rending plea to another
woman, Mrs. A. S. Stewart, for help. Holmes County near Lexington,
Mississippi, April 27, 1875

Scope and contents:

Carrie, whose parents are deceased, writes that she suffers from
neuralgia and cannot work. She makes an emotional plea for money to have
her roof repaired and "old clothing the crumbs
from your table, anything to help me live."

Three cabinet card photographs of children taken by local
photographers. Natchez, [circa
1880s-1890s]

Scope and contents:

Each one is an individual standing portrait of a young boy; each wear
bowties, and two have their hair bottle-curled in the little lord
Fauntleroy style. The unidentified lads appear to be around six or seven
years of age. Two of the cards bear the from marking of H. C. Norman,
Natchez, and the other has a back marking of L. D. Simmons, Natchez.

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208

Report of the Commissioner of Education for
the Year 1882-83. Washington: Government Printing Office,
1884

Scope and contents:

872 pp. Book on education owned by W. W. Matthews, Bayou Sara, La.

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209

Letter written by N. M. Clark, a Mississippi Methodist
evangelist, to Miss Joe with good social content. Williamsburg,
November 6, 1885

Three large photographs of the Cotton Ginnery and Compress of
Jewish merchants, the Cohn Brothers. Lorman, Mississippi,
[circa 1915]

220

Photograph of building bearing the letters "COHN BRO'S. IMPROVED GULLETT GINNERY, AND
MUNGER COMPRESS." In the background can be seen another
building, railroad tracks with an Illinois Central Railroad car,
stacks of cotton bales, wagons of cotton, and men.

220

Photograph of the same buildings from a different angle.

220

Close-up photograph of an Illinois Central Railroad car that
bears the "Central Mississippi Valley
Route" logo, packed full of cotton bales, stopped at the
loading dock by five African-American men.

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221

Postcard entitled "A Group of Maskers
on Canal Street During Carnival." New Orleans,
[circa 1915-1920]

Scope and contents:

This hand-tinted photo postcard portrays about a dozen revelers dressed
in their colorful Mardi Gras costumes with onlookers in the background.
Published by J. Scordille, New Orleans, La.

222

Sheet music for a vocal solo, entitled "Li'l Black Nigger", Copyrighted by E. Morris Music Co., New
York City, 1924

Scope and contents:

Illustrated with a caricature of a frightened little boy portrayed in
stereotype, in bed surrounded by scary Halloween characters. Bears
owner's inscription from Chicago, Ill.

223

Document called a "Crop Note," in
which W. L. Holt borrows $45 against his entire upcoming cotton crop and
pledges "1 mouse-colored mare mule named Ada
about 10 yrs. Old" to J. R. Newman as collateral. Tallapoosa,
County, Alabama, November 2, 1926

84 pp. It is full of advertisements of both white and black merchants,
and includes a photograph of H. D. Moore, the President and Promoter. It
is officially entitled "Premium List Rules and
Regulations Fifth Negro Fair – held in – Jefferson County – at –
Fayette, Mississippi Thursday, Friday and Saturday, NOVEMBER 20th,
21st, and 22nd, 1930." Several of the advertisers were
descendants of former large slave-holding cotton planters like Stowers,
Wade, and Bisland. The booklet is filled with dozens of
African-Americans‚ names and the categories of agriculture that they won
at the fair, everything from cattle, pigs, chickens, vegetables, sheep,
pantry goods, crochet, and much more.

225

Joe Louis memorabilia collection

225

Copy of the African-American magazine The Negro South (formerly The
Sepia Socialiste) with article "Joe Louis By A.K.O. In 5th Is Prediction" about Louis's
victory over Billy Conn. New Orleans, June
1946

Scope and contents:

Other articles include "The South's Blues
Singer" about bluesman Joe Turner, "Forum: Negroes should leave the South –
Negroes should stay South & work" article with letters
from numerous African-Americans, "Is it
True what They Say about Dixie" about Madame Frances
Joseph Gaudet, a Black social reformer of New Orleans,
socio-political comics, and local businesses' advertisements. The
cover shows Joe Louis and a headline "White Students on Racial Outlook."

225

Chesterfield cigarette card featuring the Louis,
undated

226

Illustrated menu from the "Eola Hotel
Grill Natchez Mississippi, 'Where the Old
South Still Lives.'" Natchez, [circa
1950]

Scope and contents:

This document gushes pseudo-nostalgia: "NATCHEZ
. . . history has made her rich in romantic and colonial reminders .
. . gracious with the splendor of breath-taking mansions. Here was
the first capitol of the State of Mississippi. Above her walls have
flown the flags of six nations. While here, take time . . . and
enjoy the enchantment of America's golden past." The cover
shows Auburn, the home of Dr. Stephen Duncan, while the back features
other antebellum Natchez homes

Some issues are devoted to an exclusive report or theme, while other
issues contain numerous articles from segregationists like Governors
George C. Wallace and Ross R. Barnett. They also contain photographs and
advertisements for racist books and signs.

227

November 1961

Scope and contents:

featuring "Race and Reason Day in
Mississippi!" and "Full Text of
Carleton Putnam's Address" ("Mistress of the Mansion" front cover), 46 pp.

featuring "Special In This Issue – How
Memphis Is Organizing To Combat The Mixers!" (Front cover
photograph of "Mississippi's ‘Miss
Hospitality,' Joan Watts, with a Colonel in the Mississippi
Greys on lawn of Governors Mansion in Jackson," wearing a
Confederate uniform and hoop skirt respectively)

227

March 1962

Scope and contents:

featuring "The Councils and Politics"
(Front cover photograph of boy reading a Confederate monument,
cannon in the foreground, entitled, "Tourists find rich heritage of history in the South, as one
small boy discovers at monument marking 1864 battle at Brice's
Cross Roads in Northeast Mississippi")

227

April 1962

Scope and contents:

featuring "A New Orleans Catholic Tells The
Real Story Of His Excommunication!" (Front cover
photograph of speakers on a stage addressing a crowd, entitled,
"Thousands of indignant New Orleans
residents attend Citizens‚ Council rally to protest plans to
integrate the city's Catholic schools")

227

May 1962

Scope and contents:

featuring "A Comprehensive Study of Negro
Migration And Population Trends" (Front cover photograph
of two young men walk on a pier as four other young men dock a
sailboat, entitled, "In sailboat and
seaplane, vacationers frolic on Mississippi‚s famed Gulf
Coast")

227

July-August 1962

Scope and contents:

featuring "Carleton Putnam Discloses New
Evidence On Evolution And Race!" (Front cover photograph
entitled "Vacation time is fishin‚ time!
And this youthful Mississippian is an apt subject for the cover
of our combined July-August summertime issue")

featuring "A Minister Tells Why – Oxford
Clergy Wrong In Calling For ‘Repentence'!" (Front cover
photograph entitled "Negro Army sergeant
leads white troops at Oxford, Miss., in bayonet drill during
Federal occupation of University of Mississippi. James Meredith
insisted that negro troops be used in this manner, despite fact
that their presence inflamed residents of Oxford area,"
Photo by Selma (Ala.) Times-Journal)

227

November 1962

Scope and contents:

featuring "A Judge Points Out –
‘Integration Amendment' Was Never Legally Adopted!" (Front
cover photograph of Ole Miss campus building entitled, "The historic Lyceum at the University of
Mississippi. This is the building which U.S. Marshals surrounded
needlessly before they incited a riot by shelling students with
gas")

227

December 1962

Scope and contents:

featuring "Three Authorities Look At
Africa" (Front cover photograph of winter scene on the
Natchez Trace near Jackson entitled, ". .
. and may all your Christmases be white!")

227

January 1963

Scope and contents:

featuring "A Methodist Declaration Of
Conscience On Segregation" (Front cover photograph of
church with a high steeple entitled, "A
Symbol of Faith")

featuring "How To Start A Private
School!" (Front cover photograph of sunset over boat off
the Florida shore)

227

October 1964

Scope and contents:

featuring "Governor Wallace Tells Why – We
Must Regain Control Over Our Public Schools" (Front cover
photograph entitled, "Goodbye to Summer. A
shapely Alabama miss strikes a pensive pose at lakeside as she
is silhouetted by an early Autumn sun")

227

November 1964

Scope and contents:

featuring "What Does The Election
Prove?" (Front cover photograph of hunter sending his
black retriever into the water from his duck blind, Florida)

featuring "Noted Scientist Says Mixed
Schools Harmful!" and "Visiting
European Journalists Say South Africa's Blacks Never Had It So
Good!" (Front cover photograph of Balboa Park, San Diego,
California)

227

March 1965

Scope and contents:

featuring "Highlights of the Leadership
Conference" (Front cover photograph of Governor George C.
Wallace and former Governor Ross Barnett shown waving to the CCA
Leadership Conference, Montgomery, standing behind the logo that
features the American and Confederate flags)

227

February 1965

Scope and contents:

featuring "The Communist Plot To Take Over
Mississippi" (Dunleith, an antebellum mansion outside
Natchez)

Bears the logo portraying the American and Confederate flags with the
inscription, "Citizens' Councils • States'
Rights • Racial Integrity." This report of the 10th Annual
Meeting of the Jackson Citizens' Council contains a list of people
deemed "outstanding citizens of Jackson [who]
were elected to serve on the board of this cities [sic] largest
organization as directors for 1965-1966."

Mississippi River Valley Addenda

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228A

Newspaper clipping about Confederate Capt. Jno. Shorter, upon his
capture near Jackson, Miss. Possibly from a Columbus (Ga.?)
newspaper.

228B

Two letters about life in Mississippi

228B

Chesterfield, Miss., September 29,
1897

Scope and contents:

"I see yellow fever is steadily on the
increase in New Orleans, and as it has at least six weeks or two
months yet to spread there...I believe now the disease will
become epidemic in the city...Better run out to Atlanta or St.
Louis...."

228B

December 22, 1912

Scope and contents:

"Dear children...I have my hands full.
Killed some of my hogs...We went to Coxburg...&
Talarville...I fear we will have a dull Xmas. It has been
raising a day & night, and oh how muddy Old Santa will have
bad weather...John is with us...He told us of his narrow escape
Tues. night in Starksville when that Hotel burned...He got his
clothes and dressed on the street...."

228C

Booklet, Natchez, Mississippi, U.S.A.,
Natchez imprint, [circa 1935]

Scope and contents:

"Land of Romance - Home of Eternal Spring -
Above her walls have flown the flags of six nations...." 12
pp.

Commercial Bank of Natchez and West Feliciana Rail Road Co. among
parties. Involves land, and that defendants refrain from "selling 300 bales of the cotton raised during
the present year, on the lands described as follow...," this
being 1,275 acres in Wilkinson County, Miss., "generally known as the 'Walnut Grove
Plantation.'"

228E

Promissary note to pay Carradin & Newman $533.32 in six
months, "payable at the Agricultural Bank of
Natchez," signed by merchants, March 30,
1839

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228F

The Comprehensive Bible; containing the Old
and New Testaments..., third ed., Robinson & Franklin,
N.Y., 1839

Scope and contents:

Belonged to the Outlaw family, The Cedars Plantation, Starkville,
Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, and contains "Family Register" with marriages, births, deaths, and
newspaper obituaries. The earliest marriage recorded is that of (Rev.)
D.A. Outlaw, in 1835, whose signature appears on front flyleaf; his 1870
obituary is pasted on the opposite page. The earliest birth recorded was
in 1811, the last in 1979; the earliest death recorded was in 1837, the
last in 1959. Twentieth-century typescript of information from
headstones in Oaklaw family cemetery.

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229G

Seven photographs of Old Port Gibson, Miss., [circa
1878-1890s]

229G

Cabinet photo of "Kelley's Store,
Port Gibson, Miss."

Scope and contents:

In pencil on verso, "Store operated by
Robert Capers in Port Gibson 1880-1895. Man with arms folded is
John J. Kelley. Man with hands on hips is Geo. Naasson
(Jr.)."

Cabinet photo identified in pencil on verso as "A School in Port Gibson," showing an
assortment of 23 men, women, boys, and girls.

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229H

The Mississippi River and its
Source. "A Narrative and Critical
History of the Discovery of the River and its Headwaters,
accompanied by the results of detailed hydrographic and topographic
surveys." By Hon. J.V. Brower, Minneapolis,
1893

[AR 2010-240]:

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2. 17 New Orleans letters. 1804-1865. Including a letter from
John Nicholson, representing New Orleans citizens, to U.S. Senator
Edward Livingston of Louisiana in Washington, DC, about the usage of
public lots on Levee Street, January 6, 1830.

3. An 1804 copy of the bill of sale for African-born children
purchased by old British Colonel Anthony Hutchins at the Fort of Natchez
just prior to the adoption of the United States Constitution.
April 5, 1804, copy of original dated November 5,
1788.

4. Affidavit concerning the use of iron collars on enslaved
Africans in the Mississippi Territory during the War of 1812. Andrew
Simmons, Natchez, addresses the mayor Samuel Brooks about a neighbor who
repeatedly removes an iron collar from his slave. Despite the heaviness
of the collar, the slaveholder argues that he is justified in forcing
the enslaved young man to wear it because he repeatedly runs away from
the plantation. Signed by Simmons and Brooks, August 19,
1812.

5. Letter from Daniel T. Patterson, Commander of Naval Forces,
about "a black man named Moses," a
deserter from the United States Navy, who is in prison in the
Mississippi Territory. One-page detailed letter gives instructions on
how to obtain the release of Moses as the Navy wanted him back. Signed
by Patterson as commander and addressed to George Davis of the Navy,
dated New Orleans, . February 1, 1814

6. Marschalk (Andrew) Papers, Natchez, 1820-1821,
18287 items

Scope and contents:

Among the items are rare handwritten documents, being advertisements that
are notices for runaway slaves from William Walker, the local jailor,
who sent them to the editor Andrew Marschalk to be published in his
Natchez newspaper.

Manuscript advertisement for "Runaways in Adams County Jail," describing two men,
including Billy who has his big toe nearly cut off, 1820.

Manuscript notice for the "Negro
man named John says he belongs to Thomas Brabston in
Washington...," [ca. 1820].

Manuscript notice concerning "A
Negro man named John Says he belongs to Isaac House near
Petitgulf. He is About 36 or 37 years Old, about 5 feet high,
has A large flesh Mould on the left side of his jaw. The Owners
of the Above negro are requested to Come forward Comply with the
law and take him Away." 1821.

Manuscript advertisement about "a
negro man named John. Says he belongs to Mr James Nelson of
Bayou manchack...he has a scar above his left Eye...." 1821.

Manuscript notice, "Committed To
the Jail of Adams County on the 1st January A Negro man named
Martin. Says he belongs to Moses Moore on Shappipaela near
Madisonville. He is About 35 years old, About 5 feet 5 inches
high, he has A Scar on the right side of his head and one of his
fingers on the right hand is broke...." 1821.

Manuscript notice announcing the marriage of Mr. William T.
Walker to Miss Maria Preston of Natchez by the Reverend J. Carson,
and addressed to Colo. Marschalk au verso.

7. French American Louisiana manuscript about the sale of "un Moulin a Vapeur," a mill used in the
production of sugar, and all its parts, for 2,000 piastres. Signed by
former Commandant José Vidal, former Governor Carlos de Grand Pré, and
Ju: Gravier, dated a la Nouvelle Orleans, . 27 Juin
1821

8. Three Woodson Wren letters to his plantation slave overseer
in the "land of Goshen." Southwest
Mississippi, 1834.

Woodson Wren writes A. D. Lancaster, his overseer at Wren’s
Woodyard, Goshen [Plantation], telling him not to push the slaves
too hard during their first year of "being
in the country," dated May 5, 1834.

Woodson Wren, Natchez, writes A. D. Lancaster, his overseer
at Goshen Plantation, inquiring about progress on the plantation,
giving instructions about how they should proceed with work, and
specifically telling him "to be lenient
with the negroes," May 12, 1834.

Woodson Wren in Natchez writes A. D. Lancaster, his overseer
at Goshen Plantation, expressing concern about reports that he is
frequently intoxicated and "abuse[s] the
negroes shamefully," and inquiring about Tom Cook and
Bull, two enslaved men, June 18,
1834.

Front-page 3/4 column proposal for purchasing large quantities of
Live-Oak timber by United States Navy. Inside, an "Extract of a letter from Tampico, dated
December 9th," containing an article about the Texas uprising
and detailed list of 28 American men shot by Mexican firing squad. Also,
column-length "An Appeal. To the Ladies of the
City of Baltimore," detailing the support for the Texan War
for Independence in the city. Also, poem entitled, "Reflections on Christmas Morn." A third
of page two devoted to "Shipping List for the
Port of New Orleans Ships." Hundreds of advertisements,
including a few detailed runaway slave ads. Also, article about an
Irishman who fought in Texas, and a letter from him published in the
paper. Large woodcut of the hydrogen balloon Star of the West, and
detailed advertisement for "Mr. Clayton, the
Western Aeronaut."

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10. A pre-printed receipt with handwritten annotations from S. B.
Stutson, Jailor of Adams County, issued to Mrs. B. Bernard for the jail
fees of Robert, a runaway slave, Natchez, July 6, 1838.

11. Three letters from attorneys Sanders & Price about the
case of Virginia-native Wilson Cousins, a free man of color, jailed and
charged with being a runaway slave while at Natchez, dated
Virginia, 1843.

Charles W. Fitzgerald, Nottoway, Virginia, to Messrs. Sanders
& Price, Attorneys at Law, Natchez, relating to history of the
free black family known as the Cousins who lived in Nottoway County,
June 22, 1843.

P. Williams, Postmaster, Nottoway Court House, Virginia, to
Messrs. Sanders & Price. The postmaster indicates that several
people in the neighborhood of Nottoway know the Cousins family.
June 25, [1843]

Nancy Cousins, [a free woman of color], written by Jos. M.
Fowlkes, Nottoway, to Messrs. Sanders & Price, Natchez. Nancy
Cousins, a free woman of color, communicates to Sanders and Price
through her neighbor, stating that she understood her brother was
taken as a runaway slave and was in jail even though he was a free
man. July 20, 1843

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20. Six pages from the Frog More plantation overseer’s (George
Woodruff) ledger plus two letters from the overseer to the owner with an
inventory of the plantation’s 183 slaves, 1858-1860. The six pages of
ledger notes and letters describe the workings of the Frog More
plantation.

Four pages of ledger notes inventory the 183 slaves on the
Frog More plantation on Christmas Day 1858. Listed are the names,
values, and ages.

George Woodruff to J. P. Bowman. Woodruff describes finishing
corn planting and the selling of molasses and shoes. He also
describes the ailments of Simon, a slave struck with pneumonia as
well as a child found smothered in slave quarters.

Ledger entries provide daily descriptions of plantation life
in July 1858.

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01. A letter from William Chandler Brent, a tobacco planter, to a
Mr. Blair that indicates the equivalency of tobacco as a financial
medium of exchange, to Port Tobacco, which may be today, the smallest
incorporated community in the United States. Port Tobacco, Maryland,
1793.

02. William Vousdan Papers from eighteenth-century Cotton Field
plantation on Second Creek, just south of Natchez: A land transaction
dated Christmas Eve, 1798, that details the purchase of 1,600 acres of
land on Bayou Sara in Spanish West Florida; a 1799 letter about the
plantation; a 1799 financial instrument denominated in Spanish Dollars,
and issued at Natchez, 1798-99; and an 1818 manuscript copy of the 1802
will of William Vousdan, that stipulates provisions for the welfare of
his wife, Elizabeth Vousdan, and the distribution of plantation and
property, including named slaves and terms of their future emancipation.
5 items.

03. A map drawn by pioneer William Vousdan, of his Spanish Land
Grants located on Bayou Sara, just below the Line of Demarcation between
Spanish Louisiana and the newly formed Mississippi Territory, that also
shows a section of the Native American "Chacta
Path." Probably near Natchez, ca. 1798.

04. A piece of eighteenth-century Mississippi postal history: A
letter from William Vousdan to Colonel Anthony Hutchins, datelined
Cotton Field [plantation] and addressed to White Apple Village [original
site of the Natchez Indians], that refers to "large Tea Party in opposition to the Rebe an Bak [?] as its
called;" the sanctity of original land grants that are
guaranteed by Spanish Governor Miro, including a tract of his own former
property; and remarks on his plan to visit William Dunbar and the
recipient, and news about his corn crop. Adams County, Mississippi
Territory, 1799.

05. James Smith, a tobacco planter, binds himself to the Kentucky
governor for £150 current money as a pledge to duly collect and record
all moneys, tobacco, and fees put in his hands—indicating tobacco as a
medium of exchange. Pendleton County, Kentucky,
1801.

06. A Natchez-postmarked 1801 letter by famous settler, Anthony
Hutchins, to his nephew, Peter Marsalis in New Jersey, in response to
his query about the prospect of settling on the Homochitto River, that
may be the earliest United States postal marking from Natchez in
existence. Natchez, Mississippi Territory,
1801.

08. Bethany Hains, a Virginia farmer, leaves his worldly
property, including his land and "mantion
hous," to his sons and his wife, Morning Hains. Surry, Patrick
County, Virginia, 1805.

09. Liquor and grocer merchant’s bill that reflects heavy
consumption of alcohol in frontier Natchez, during the fall at the time
of the Burr conspiracy.
Natchez, 1807-08.

10. Rodney (Thomas) Papers. Mississippi Territory,
1810.

11. Reports on the southern cotton market and international
politics from Liverpool, England, with references to the Bills of
Exchange financial system, including suspension of credit during the
Panic of 1837, 1811-1837.

12. A financial-related letter that mentions bills drawn on
Antigua, and the law requiring the use of "stamp paper," to Colonel Henry Skipwith of Williamburg.
Richmond, 1814.

13. Poindexter (George) correspondence,
1814.

14. Feeding the United States Army during the War of 1812 era.
New Orleans, 1815.

15. A Savannah physician's wife reports about an outbreak of flu
in New York, the vaccination of her children against small pox, and her
efforts to return home to the South. New York,
1815.

16. General William Barton, who seeks his deceased son’s effects,
is informed not to expect much "from this
quarter." Savannah, 1817.

17. Philanthropists advocate making farmers out of native
peoples, and seek congressional action and President Monroe’s support to
"assist the poor neglected and friendless
Indian." Georgetown, 1818.

18. A letter and accompanying forged slave pass that was carried
by an enslaved man called, "Tom Green,"
who made an unsuccessful run for freedom. Natchez,
1818.

19. Receipts for the education of free children of color in
Mississippi at the beginning of statehood. Natchez,
1818.

20. The purchase of slaves in Virginia by a South Carolina slave
trader. Camden, South Carolina, 1820.

01. Manuscript invoice for advertising expenses in the hand
of Andrew Marschalk, and signed by him, incurred by Colonel William
T. Walker.

02. A well laid out handwritten advertisement from William T.
Walker, Jailor of Adams County, who writes "Committed."

03. William T. Walker, who signs below, writes a bold heading
of "Committed."

04. Advertisement in the handwriting of William Walker that
includes: "Committed" at the top,
and below, "To the Jail of Adams County on
the 30th August"

05. Handwritten advertisement that is signed and dated, "Wm. Walker Jailor A.C. Natchez October 12,
1820," and refers to the runaway slave
Gilbert.

06. Handwritten and signed advertisement from Adams County
jailor, Colonel William T. Walker for "A
negro man named Jim."

07. "Committed To the jail of Adams
County on the 25th October A negro man named
Dick."

08. Handwritten and signed broadside type manuscript document
with an impressive visual presentation, and headlined, "Thirty Dollars Reward," and below:
"Runaway from the subscriber in the
Citty of Natchez on the 14th Inst. A Negro man named William
about 26 years of age 5 feet 9 or 10 Inches high slim built
quite black thin visage vary sensible in conversation and is
extreamly fond of ardent spirits."

09. Handwritten manuscript regarding slavery.

10. "Committed to the Adams County
jail on the 31st Inst A Negro Woman named Louisa about 22 or 23
years of age 5 feet 2 Inches high and of A yallowish Coular —
The said Girl says she was purchased 2 Days previous by A Mr
Brittain (Liveing some place up the Country were she knows not)
of A Mr Tompson at the Natchez Landing and she absconded when on
her way home..."

11. Handwritten advertisement for person described as "A Negro Boy named
Barton."

13. Handwritten and signed advertisement for "A Negro man named Simon Says he belongs to
Phoebe Chambers living in Jersey settlement
M.T...."

14. Headlined in large lettering: "Committed To The jail of Adams County on the 21st March
1821."

15. An engraving of an eagle with its wings spread, clasping
an olive branch, shield, and arrows in its talons, rays above, at
left; the pre-printed test reads, "The Natchez Gazette (Established in
April, 1802)"

02. Alison Ross, Jefferson County, Mississippi, to James T.
Wade, Columbia, South Carolina, 20 January
1825.

04. John C. Ricks, New Orleans, to Dr. Walter Wade, care of
William W. Evans, Esq., Rodney, 8 November
1841.

05. Two letters in one since Richards used the same
lettersheet bearing Dr. Walter Wade’s letter to respond back to him:
Dr. Walter Wade, [near Port Gibson, to Maj. Robert Garland,
Vicksburg, 26 February 1842.

07. Letter of Dr. James T. Wade, writing from Rosswood
plantation, provides information about the burning of the mansion on
Prospect Hill plantation, that resulted in accusations of a
sensational slave conspiracy and the lynching of some of them
alleged named perpetrators. He was sleeping at the house that night
and discovered the fire. Natchez,
1845.

08. Buckner and Stanton, New Orleans, to Dr. Walter Wade,
care of Drake Ennis and You, Rodney, 4 December
1845.

27. A letter from a Mississippi Gulf Coast county wherein Nathan
P. Smart describes his journey through the Choctaw Purchase and
Calcasieu country with impressions of the land and land prices in the
newly opened region, and report s family news. Marion County,
Mississippi, 1826.

28. Frederick Stanton writes that he owns the slave woman known
as Matilda, whom he acquired from Adam L. Bingaman. Natchez,
1830.

29. A detailed letter that describes travel, career plans, and a
proposal to manufacture and distribute Cyrus McCormick’s patented plow
in Tennessee. Greenville, Tennessee, 19 December
1830.

30. Leverich and Co. correspondence,
1831-49.

01. James Colles, New Orleans, to Henry S. Leverich, New
York, May 1831.

17. William J. Minor writes about the effects of the low
river and late frost on the sugar market, and reports on the cholera
epidemic that killed about 20 slaves on Dugal’s plantation nearby
and sickened others on his own place. New River,
1849.

18. George Green Son & Co., Liverpool, to Charles P.
Leverich, New York, 18 May 1849.

31. A letter that describes a foiled slave insurrection in grisly
detail, with names of alleged conspirators who were shot or hanged and
decapitated, and contains much local and social news. Wilmington, North
Carolina, ca. 1831-32.

32. Nathan Wooster writes his mother back in Connecticut about
health, the peddling business, and includes a proposal to raise sheep,
and life on Sunday. New Iberia, Louisiana,
1832.

33. Reverend William R. Bowman of St. Francisville receives
family news from back East, 1833.

34. A letter from John Rust to his brother in Boston that
describes his visit to a Virginia coal mine. Richmond,
1833.

35. Bell & Co. (Abraham) Correspondence,
1834-35.

36. A young woman’s letter in French, that provides a glimpse
into home life and child-rearing in south Louisiana. Donaldsonville,
1834.

37. A letter to R. W. Israel, agent for Great Falls Manufacturing
Co., concerning the shipment and consumption of cotton in New England.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 1835.

39. A French-speaker writes his kinsman at the Agronomy School of
Grignon in France, from New Orleans,
1836.

41. James Sewell letter regarding that his lands have been sold
to a Mr. Sterling in a letter postmarked at Elkton, a small town just a
few miles from the Chester County, Pennsylvania, border at the
Mason-Dixon Line. Elkton, Maryland,
1836.

42. Letter on the Alabama cotton crop and low rivers. Mobile,
1836.

43. An Irish priest, M. C. Malony, writes about his love of Irish
culture, including reverence for Saint Patrick; his trans-Atlantic
passage from Black Rock, County Cork, Ireland; and news of the parish
flock, friends, and a Miss Woulfe, a prospective nun who must choose
between a secular life or a religious one. Charleston,
1837.

44. The ship Archimedes clears
customs and "goes down the river this
evening" with a consignment of cotton for a Liverpool buyer,
and money borrowing is necessary to pay Mr. Edward Austin, at the
beginning of the Panic of 1837. New Orleans,
1837.

48. A Virginia cotton and tobacco broker, A. P. Patterson,
provides his business associate in Kennebunk, Maine, detailed expenses
for a trans-Atlantic voyage from Cardiff, Wales, and reports on
prospects for the barque Nimrod to sail a
shipment to the port of Havre. City Point, Virginia,
1838.

49. Christopher, a South Carolinian a young man studying abroad,
writes a lengthy letter to his sister about his quest for knowledge in
Europe that includes his mastery of three languages and study of a
fourth, his homesickness, and family news. Paris,
1838.

50. A letter from Watson Chapin, who reports on yellow fever and
asks for money since "it is three months since
I parted with my last bit." New Orleans,
1838.

51. James Furlong relates the circumstances of their brother
George’s death and refers to Yellow Fever. Mobile,
1838.

52. Letters about the banking crisis, commodities prices, and
contracts on hogs, from the Dorsey & Stackhouse Correspondence. New
Orleans and Cincinnati, 1839.

53. The Vaughans, who are tobacco traders, make sales of Kentucky
tobacco, including a lot of tobacco from a "William Falkner" [sic] of Tennessee, and strategize their
business in a bad economy and election year,
1840.

54. Mrs. Shields of Natchez, receives news from her cousin at the
University of Virginia, 1840.

55. A shipment of New England cider is too hard to sell for
cider, and not sour enough for vinegar, and must age several months.
Savannah, 1840.

56. A young man named William, writes his sweetheart, Miss
Georgia Browne, writes, "I never had the blues
dear love worse in my life," and reports on his arduous
business travel and work. Fredericksburg,
1840.

57. Letter from Thomas M. Johnston re: social history that
includes news of smallpox and marriages in the Huckabee and Croom
families. Greensboro, Alabama, 1841.

58. A college student, J. H. Browning, who has purchased a horse,
writes a letter to his guardian, Col. Daniel Stickley, a report of his
needs and plans. Gayewood, Virginia,
1841.

73. W. Clark reports to William Thomas of Vicksburg, that there
mutual friend, W. C. Stoker, is on his death bed. Memphis,
1846.

74. Eugene Weld, who aspires to be a physician, writes his sister
back in New York, about family and the sporadic nature of medicine as
profession in the South. New Iberia,
1846.

75. A letter from Dr. S. C. Snyder, a physician, to a physician
friend in Virginia, about a failed attempt to purchase Council Bend
plantation, which was in financial difficulty, and the economic hard
times in the Memphis area during the Depression that had already lasted
ten years. Memphis, 1847.

76. Barnes (Robert A.) correspondence, 1846 and
1849.

77. William Waller, a State Engineer for Louisiana, writes his
brother Henry, an Assistant State Engineer, who is at Donaldson, about
news of the 2nd Dragoons’ march to Texas, surveying projects for
planters, and the importance of protecting survey equipment. Baton
Rouge, 1845.

78. A letter written on July 4th from a Mr. J. Lynch to a Mrs.
Walch in Ireland about the state of her residential property on St. John
the Baptist Street, guardianship of a minor, and the July southern heat.
New Orleans, 1846.

81. A letter from A. T. Wedderbure who describes the Charity
Hospital and new Medical Department at the University of Louisiana. New
Orleans, 1847.

82. Dr. William N. Mercer declines an executorship of the estate
of Judge Butler, deceased. New Orleans,
1848.

83. A letter from the Farrar family correspondence that describes
Samuel Alexander Smith’s second attempt to aid slaves in escaping to
freedom by boxing them up and sending them on the train to Philadelphia.
Richmond, 1849.

89. C. B. Wheeler letter with social history content to Sumter,
South Carolina, from Sumter County, Alabama,
1853.

90. Milroy family letters from an extinct community called
Carson’s Landing, located in Washington County in the Mississippi Delta,
with insight into perceptions of old age, feelings of loss with the
death of parents, and belief in an afterlife. Greenville, 1854
and 1858.

91. A business relationship between a Mobile cotton factor and
the de Rothschild Brothers of Paris, France—based on cotton—that
continued after the Civil War. Mobile, 1856 and
1869.

93. A pre-printed slave bill of sale for 13 young women, aged
14-20, all having last names, including Queen Barksdale (age 15), sold
as a group for $16,000 to planter Benjamin Roach by slave-trader J. M.
Wilson. New Orleans, 1857.

94. Agricultural business conducted in French with Alexander
Latiolais of Vermillionville. New Orleans,
1858.

95. Olcott Family Correspondence, 1821, 1842 and
1859.

P-01. Letter to Susie Leigh, Thibodeau, LA.,
1871

P-03. Photograph and receipts, F. H. W. Davis, 1882,
1884

P-04. Tintype, Russum, Mississippi, ca.
1890

P-05. Two Stereo Views of Steamer "City
of Natchez," 1891

P-06. Two receipts, 1893, 1894

P-07. John A. Boyd, Confederate Pension Application,
1901

Patrons of Husbandry

Printed material

Journal of Proceedings of the Ninth Session of the
National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry,
1875

Songs for the Grange,
1873

Manual of Subordinate Granges,
1873

Constitution and By-laws, 1873,
1875

Instructions for Subordinate Granges, ca.
1870s

Bethany Grange, Warren County, Illinois

Financial records, 1873

Legal documents and certificates,
1874-1875

Correspondence, 1876

Secretary’s Quarterly Reports,
1875-1876

Address of Prof. J. B. Turner, ca.
1870s

O. M. Daymude Dentist Advertisement, ca.
1870s

Obituary, 1953

State Grange of Illinois Life Insurance, ca.
1870s

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Patrons of Husbandry certificates, 1873,
1874

Letter to Mrs. Martha Wade from her husband, Columbia, South
Carolina, 1845

07. A manuscript map that shows land tracts on both sides of the
international 31st parallel line, "including
90 acres under Cultivation" that probably represents one of
the earliest cotton plantations established in the Old Southwest. West
Florida/New Feliciana, Spanish Louisiana,
1803.

A travel letter written by Tracy R. Edson of New York at the
height of "Flush Times" during the
1830s, describing New Orleans life in detail, and providing a first-hand
account of a busy market of slave auctions, including his conversation
with a teenage girl who was sold on the auction block. New Orleans,
1836.

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01. George Davis, Natchez, to Honorable George Poindexter,
Natchez, February 22, 1814.

Scope and contents:

A War of 1812 era manuscript petition from United States naval
authorities at New Orleans, to George Poindexter, a judge in the
Mississippi Territory, and later, Mississippi governor -who endorses it
with his signature- pertaining to the legal status of a seaman named
Moses Thornton, an African American, who was threatened with being sold
as "perishable property." Natchez, 1814.

02. John Hosmer, Natchez, to Doctor Edward Parmley, New Orleans, May 16, 1819.

Scope and contents:

Shortly before his death, John Hosmer, a co-founder and principal of the
Natchez Academy for young ladies, writes a letter from Harmony Hall to
Dr. Edward Parmley, wherein he expresses his esteem for the former
member of the community, and reports having recently seen Drs. Wakeman
and Philips, and that "Judge Metcalfe has concluded to reside at
Natchez." Natchez, 1819.

03. Thomas B. Reed, as Attorney General for the State of
Mississippi, signs a Grand Jury indictment against John D. Zeizer, a
laborer from Natchez, who had been accused of inflicting cruel and
unusual punishment upon a slave called Fanny, but was apparently
exonerated of the charge. Adams County, Mississippi, 1821.

This attractive map is printed on two leaves affixed at a vertical seam
au verso center

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05. J. Clark, St. Francisville, Louisiana, to his brother, John
D. Norris, a few doors from 207 Hudson Street towards the canal, New
York, October 2, [circa 1825].

Scope and contents:

Writing from St. Francisville, Louisiana, a J. Clark apprises his brother
back in New York, for his efforts in a promising business that includes a
plan to purchase jewelry, and his recent acquisition of a property lot
and shop for a thousand dollars. St. Francisville, circa 1825.

Rev. James Smylie correspondence, 1825 and 1830.

06. A letter from Hill & Henderson to the Reverend James
Smylie, of Liberty, Mississippi, concerning their desire to have a
mortgage cancelled that Smylie holds on a house and lots in
Woodville belonging to a Mr. Pitcher of that place. New Orleans, 1825.

Neal Smith, who is a senatorial candidate, writes to the Reverend
James Smylie of Amite County, Mississippi, to inquire what he knows
about Thomas Lovell, a planter with eight or ten hands, who received
$3,000 as part of a contract to raise university buildings for the
Trustees of the University of Tuscaloosa. Suggsville, Alabama,
1830.

21. One 20.2 cm by 24.9 cm page on single sheet, "Sale of
Twenty Bales Cotton by Payne & Harrison for account of Malcolm
[sic] McNeil Esqr Sold F B Church & Bro. 1 Nov 1847" […]. Dated
5 November 1847, and signed by L.H. Adams per Payne & Harrison
at New Orleans, November 5, 1847.

23. One 27.2 cm by 13.6 cm pre-printed and filled in page.
Engraving of a steamboat on the river with a flatboat in the
distance identified below as printed by "[J.B. Steel, Print, 14
Camp-st.]" in upper left corner. Dated in Lake Charles the 11th day
of Nov 1847 [signed] Wm Dougherty clk.", November 11, 1847.

25. One 21.2 cm by 12.4 cm pre-printed and filled-in invoice.
Directed by Payne & Harrison, New Orleans, to Malcom McNeil, for
an order of Kentucky jeans, keg of nails, eight cane knives, six
vials of vermifuge, plus drayage and commission fees, amounting to
$44.33. Shipped aboard steamboat Clarksville and dated 29 November
1847 at New Orleans, November 29, 1847.

26. Payne & Harrison, per William D. Dougherty, New
Orleans, to Malcom McNeill, Indian Charly's Landing, [Coahoma
County, Mississippi], November 30, 1847.

A letter written from Washington, Mississippi, postmarked at Fayette, and
mailed to Port Gibson, by John M. Whitney, who seeks the help of Thomas
Cotton in collecting on a financial note endorsed by Lionel Fletcher who
lives in Claiborne County "near the line of Jefferson in the
Neighborhood of Clarkes Mill." Washington, Mississippi, 1827.

34. Kinnicutt, New Orleans, to his friend, Bryant Burwell, M.D.,
Buffalo, New York, August 7, 1829.

Scope and contents:

Addressing his medical doctor friend back in New York, a Mr. Kinnicutt,
who is a New Orleans high school principal, writes a remarkably
descriptive letter about everyday life in the "Venice of America", where
Sunday festivities included "a dance on the congo-ground", "quarteroon
balls," and theatre -that emphasizes both its violent nature and its
Creole heritage- and provides a personal anecdote of a dueling challenge
that he received from a local judge. New Orleans, Louisiana, 1829.

A woman named Margaret, who politely rejects the romantic interest shown
in her by Robert W. McClanahan of Virginia, remarks that the planters
are busy, the vegetation begins to look gay and bright and "I shall
almost hate to leave this land of flowers and sun shine." Natchez,
1830.

36. John Foot, New Orleans, to his wife, Mary Ann Foot, and young
son, W. Irving Foot, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York, August 25, 1834.

Scope and contents:

John Foot, who has not been ill since he left Lake Erie, writes to his
wife Mary Ann back home in Ithaca, New York, to apprise her of his delay
in catching a steamboat for Cincinnati and the "upper country," and
reports that New Orleans is more healthy than any city in the United
States because of the favorable weather. New Orleans, 1834.

Carlos Bates writes to his brother back east about family matters,
reports good crops of cotton and corn, indicating a very light sugar
crop, and provides local news about mutual acquaintances and his
employment which includes traveling in French settlements where he is
able to speak the language. Opelousas, Louisiana, 1836.

Leverich & Co. Correspondence, 1837-1851.

38. James H. Leverich, New Orleans, to Charles P. Leverich,
New York, February 7, 1837.

Boston merchants Greenleaf & Foster write to clothiers Messrs S.H.
Allen & Co. of Worcester, on behalf of Natchez merchants, Messrs
Lambdin & Bennett, for perhaps $2,000 worth of indicated types of
male apparel from fine pants and coats to "jeans," and report on the
recovery of Mississippi funds, referencing the current rates of exchange
for checks drawn by the Planters Bank of Natchez on the Bank of America
in New York. Boston, 1838.

56. John Taylor, Newark, New Jersey, to his sister, Mrs.
Obedience Taylor, Leyden, Lewis County, New York, June 21, 1839.

Scope and contents:

John Taylor, who spent the winter in New Orleans, writes his sister back
in New York, a lengthy report about having stopped at Natchez to visit
his brother, Frederick Taylor, a deputy sheriff in Adams County,
Mississippi, whose sixteen-year-old wife died during pregnancy. Newark,
New Jersey, 1839.

A letter from the famous Haller Nutt correspondence written to Nutt by
W.R.C. Vernon, who, writing from Woodburne plantation near Washington,
Mississippi, explains his involvement as the executor of the estate of
John Thomas Winn (who was murdered. See Natchez Courier, July 11, 14,
1840, and Hogan and Davis, eds., William Johnson's Natchez (1951),
285).

New England cotton buyer, John G. Tappan, writes to his business
associate, J.P. Hazard, about a small debt that he wishes to settle, and
will make the adjustment in the next shipment of cotton that he receives
from William St. John Elliott, a wealthy planter who built D'Evereux
mansion near Natchez. Boston, 1843.

The Natchez cotton brokerage firm of Buckner & Stewart writes to N.N.
Wilkinson of New Orleans, about a legal matter, mentioning that one of
them will go to Vicksburg in a few days to see Judge Bodley. Natchez,
1843.

New Orleans Price Current sheets with cotton-related
correspondence from the Abraham Bell & Son correspondence. New
Orleans, 1846, 1852.

60. James E Woodruff and John Woodruff, New Orleans, to
Messrs. Abraham Bell & Son, New York, February 29, 1846.

H.F. Peterson, who is in partnership with Samuel S. Wilson in the
slave-trading business, writes a letter to Wilson that expresses
concern for his non-communication to letters, emphasizes his need
for money to meet financial obligations that resulted from
disappointing sales, reports sales of a woman, girl, and two boys,
and questions whether his partner is trying to ruin him financially.
New Orleans, 1846.

George G. Willson writes to James H. Wilson of Nashville to inquire
whether the recipient can sell him slaves equal to the amount of a
$2,160 note, and describes the terms of sale proposed by "several
traders," using the word "negros" seven times in his letter. Lake
Providence, Louisiana, 1846.

On the first of October, 1847, cotton factors Waterman & Burgess
report to fellow merchants Messrs. Shubael Hutchins & Co. of
Providence, Rhode Island, about prospects for large crops of cotton in
different areas of the South, made even more promising by the
non-appearance of the army worm. New Orleans, 1847.

A letter from J. Ashworth, originally from Alabama, who settled at Bayou
Sara in the grocery business, writes to his cousin about family
connections, and speculates that he may remain a bachelor unless he
meets a "fair lady of Louisiana" at a fishing party to be held the
following day. Bayou Sara, Louisiana, 1848.

A chatty personal letter from the Boddie family correspondence, written
by Mary Boddie, near Nashville, to a Mrs. M. Boddie of Memphis,
reporting that it had been "very gay" in Memphis for a fortnight, and
inquiring "Whether Nashville is as gay or not". Nashville, 1849.

Writing to his brother in Rusk, Texas, from Kinkerdine plantation near
Vicksburg, Daniel A. Cameron comments on his recent marriage, family
news, a local bussiness matter between Messrs. Cooper and Watson, and
remarks that, "The people in this region are run mad with California
Gold excitement." Vicksburg, 1849.

A letter written form Carroll County by D.R. Sibly, who addresses his
creditor and explains that he left Tallahatchie not to escape his debts,
but to find employment so that he could pay them. Carroll County,
Mississippi, 1850.

A letter to Buchannon, Carroll, & Co. from K.P. Alston of Jackson,
Mississippi, who reports shipment of the last of his cotton crop,
instructs the sale of cotton belonging to the estate of J.M. Battle,
deceased, and desiring that $10,000 of his own funds be forwarded to
him, also seeks to know whether cholera is bad in New Orleans. Jackson,
Mississippi, 1851.

Miss Emilie R. Watts writes from Spring Ridge, Mississippi, to her
cousin, Miss Helene Watts Floyd-Jones of Long Island, New York, about
boarding at the infirmary, news of family and friends including memebers
of the Patton and Huckabee families, also reporting that "there is a
great deal of Gayety at the Wells and Springs both of which places are
within six miles of us" - a reference to Cooper's Wells spa in Hinds
County. Spring Ridge, Mississippi, 1851.

A letter from Sallie Peerson of Gainesville, Alabama, who describes
how she enjoys her school following her return home that included
traveling through "those old gloomy looking Mississippi woods",
1851.

A resident of the Red River country, Catherine Robinson, writes her
brother Robert P. Smiley in Centerville, Mississippi, about the Robinson
family, effects from cholera, poor crop conditions, and that her husband
may sell his place and move "above the raft" - an historic reference to
the unique natural phenomenon known as the Red River Raft which
obstructed the river since the Ice Age until its gradual removal using
Henry Shreve's technology. Shreveport, Louisiana, 1852.

From his home called the "Oaks," in northeast Mississippi, John Perkins,
Sr., writes to his son, John, Jr. who had recently arrived at their
Ashwood plantation in Madison Parish, Louisiana, providing him with an
orientation of his accommodations there that include details about who
could and could not be trusted among the slaves, and admonishing him to
maintain his personal character while running for political office in
Louisiana. Columbus, Mississippi, 1853.

77. D.C. Norton, twenty miles from Natchez, to Sarah, [Ohio], October 26, 1853.

Scope and contents:

D.C. Norton, a grocer operating temporarily outside of Natchez during the
Cholera Epidemic of 1853, writing to his female friend, Sarah, describes
the effects of that disease on the city's commerce, its people, and
himself, expressing anticipation that two or three heavy frosts "will
release us from our exile." Natchez, 1853.

78. A notarized manuscript copy of a Parish of Pointe Coupée,
Louisiana, legal record with an attached official document from Baton
Rouge signed by Governor Paul O. Hebert, that records the 1848 sale of
eight slaves for $7,075 sold to Joseph Ignatius Biscoe Kirk by attorney,
Samuel H. Davis of Natchez, Mississippi, on behalf of John Duke James of
Natchez, including seven young men called Madison, Henry, Simon,
William, Edward, Lewis, John, and Joe, as well as an eighteen-year-old
woman described as "Maulda a mulatto girl," Pointe Coupée, Louisiana, 1850.

A letter postmarked at Philadelphia in Neshoba County, Mississippi, from
Edward B. White, who writes family news to his sister Mary in Canton,
located in Madison County, reporting that his sons are busy gathering
his cotton crop, and that he will soon commence teaching school. Neshoba
County, Mississippi, 1854.

David Ferguson, a sergeant in Company M of the 4th Illinois Cavalry,
writes from Natchez, Mississippi, the day after New Year, 1864, and
reports on his company's move from the Big Black River to Vicksburg, and
their arrival in Natchez, but not without incurring two casualties,
including a soldier named Wise who was killed; he remarks that Natchez
was a "pretty nice place ... and was a great sporting place before the
war but thay hafto drop thare heads now." Natchez, 1864.

81. A civil War muster roll of 26 United States federal soldiers
from Company H, 8th Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, who
occupied Natchez, recorded on New Year's Day in Natchez, Mississippi, 1865.